Stories of The Swarm
by Marine3950
Summary: When humanity turns on itself in the middle of a fight for survival, will a rouge ship and its crew be able to make a difference? Altverse fanfic with a (hopefully) unique blend of old and new concepts and ideas.
1. Sigma-Echo: Friend or Foe?

Sigma-Echo: Friend or Foe?

* * *

I woke up to New Earth's twin suns as they peeked over the hills that surrounded Neo Terra City. I sighed, and looked over to my clock. 4:56. My alarm was set for 5. I turned off the alarm, and got out of bed. As per my routine, I checked my calendar. Friday the twelfth, 2357. I sighed. One more grueling day of work, and then blissful weekend.

My morning routine was a blur. I showered, dressed, ate, and was out the door around 5:30. From my average-sized apartment on the top floor, I took the stairs ten floors down to the subterranean parking garage, where I ran into someone I knew. She was a recently graduated officer from the Academy where I worked. She had been one of the better students.

"Good morning, sir." She said.

"Hm? Oh, good morning, Sara. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Actually, there was something I was wondering about."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, I went into intelligence after graduating, specifically Swarm Operations."

"Oh? That's nice. What's that got to do with me, though?"

"I... I read the after-action report of the _Xander_ Incident. Why didn't you ever talk about it?"

My face instantly went hard. "You read the report. Why do you need to ask?"

"But..." She started, but I held up my hand.

"Let me ask you something. If you'd gone through what I went through, lost everyone that went up with you, lost the one you'd planned on marrying... If all of that could've been avoided if you'd been properly informed of the situation, would you want to talk about it?"

"Surely you can't pin all of the blame on bad intelligence?"  
I looked her right in the eyes. "Parker Queen had hundreds of successfully executed missions under his belt. The team sent up was _his_ team, each man and woman with just as much experience as him. But we went up there unprepared because we weren't told what was waiting. We died up there because no one bothered to tell us one important piece of information: The scientists on the _Xander_ had been experimenting on The Swarm, mutating them. How were we supposed to fight things we'd never seen before? Maybe, if we'd been told, we could've actually succeeded that day. But instead..."

"I understand your point," She interrupted, "but then why keep serving?"

"What?" I asked.

"If you're a victim, why keep working for the military?"

"Because" I said. "The Swarm is a bigger problem, now more than ever."

* * *

The drive to the base was uneventful. Traffic was light, and despite last night's snowstorm, the roads were clear. I made good time getting to the base. At the checkpoint, I showed my ID, and they waved me in. I drove a bit farther, until I arrived at my destination. I got out of my car, and walked up to the double doors. I opened them, and moved through the commons to the Admin Office. One of the secretaries, whom I didn't recognize, saluted me as I walked in.

"At ease." I said. The salute fell, and I looked the secretary in the eyes. "What's your name, son?" I asked.

"Greg Simmons." Came the sharp reply.

"Look, Greg, the only time I ever enforce rank is when I need to reinforce discipline. Otherwise, don't worry about saluting me."

The secretary nodded, and looked back to his work. I continued on to my office. I opened the door, turned on the lights, sat down at my desk, and powered up my computer. It asked me for my security credentials, and I put them in. Satisfied, the computer allowed me in.

I turned away from the computer screen, and looked at my desk. For once, no paperwork was waiting for me. No transfer notices, no requests for disciplinary action. Nothing. I looked at the lone photo on my desk. It was of me and my fiancé before that fateful mission that took her and twenty-two other Marines away, as well as five scientists. She was beautiful in the picture, her emerald eyes, her chocolate-brown hair, her beautiful smile...

I was broken out of my memories when a someone entered my office. The way he carried himself spoke volumes about him. He sat down across from me, and looked right into my eyes.

"Space Marine Captain Miles Hanson." He said, more a statement than a question.

"I'm retired now, actually." I pointed out. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"My name is Roger Vernont. I'm the divisional commander of the New Earth SMD, and their operations within this system. I'm here to draft you."

"I refuse." I said flatly. "I left active duty after the _Xander_ Incident cost me the only person I ever cared about, my job, and my reputation. I came here to New Earth to escape from that. Now I actually found something else I can do. I'm head of administration here at New Earth's Officer Training Academy. I'm not going back into service."

"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice in the matter, Miles." Roger said flatly.

"And why might that be?" I asked.

"Two reasons. First: It's The Swarm."

"Big deal. The Swarm is hardly a new threat." I said. "They pop up in the news every other day with another battle fought, another ship lost, another hive destroyed, another mission failed."

"Which leads me to my second reason." He looked me right in my eyes. "Miles, it's her. It's Kelly."

I calmly rose from my seat and walked to the door. I closed it, locked it, and moved to the window. I looked outside as I spoke. It was looking like it would be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky.

"You realize the implications of what you've just told me, right?" I asked.

"I do."

"You understand that there is no way of knowing how far gone she is?"

"I do."

"You know that, given our previous relationship and my track record, there is no way of knowing how I will react to her should she contact me?"

"I do."

"You know that, if she has managed to assimilate other broods, other Queens, her brood would be far more powerful than anything else you've ever faced before, Kaal' Thaasan or Swarm?"

"I do."

"And you understand that, given my extensive experience in combat against both Kaal' Thassan and Swarm threats, that I will need to be given total command over whatever unit is being used for this mission if you want them to have a chance of coming out alive?"

He hesitated for a moment, but gave another "I do."

I turned to face him as he stood. "Then I suppose that I've been drafted." I said with a smile. He thanked me, and left after I unlocked the door. I sat back down at my desk, and picked up the picture of me and Kelly.

"Looks like you were right after all, Kelly."

* * *

I tried to concentrate on flying the dropship from Earth to the _Xander._ I found that concentrating was impossible, though. There was too much running through my head. What had happened to the members of the station staff? Would the same thing happen to us? Why were there scientists here, when all they would do was get in the way? How long would this take? I looked over to my co-pilot, Kelly Swanson. She looked at me, and smiled. She was my fiancé, the woman I would finally marry after we finished this mission. I turned back to my controls. Over the helmet com, I could hear the leader of the force, Parker Queen, barking instructions to his subordinates. I thought he heard something about "Protecting the egg-heads.", and I couldn't help but shake my head. The scientists were just untrained, unarmed personnel who would just get in the way.

I turned my attention back to the station they were approaching. I looked for the hangar, and adjusted the approach slightly. Over the ship radio, I said "Five minutes. Helmets on, weapons loaded." Behind me, I heard the hiss from the suit life-support systems. I took a deep breath, and fine-tuned the approach. The dropship was going in too fast, so I deployed the retro-boosters. I felt the ship shudder, and prayed that the hunk of junk would hold together.

* * *

It did, and the landing gear deployed successfully to boot. I quickly cut the thrusters, and unbuckled. I spun around, and grabbed the 10mm MP6 pulse SMG I'd been issued. Kelly did the same. I slapped in a clip, and charged the weapon. I looked into the passenger bay, where the twenty Marines were loading their weapons, while the five scientists twiddled their thumbs. They had argued about having to wear the suits, saying that they would be hindered. Eventually, they settled on wearing lighter, more flexible suits, though they still had to have the helmets. Parker walked to the door control panel at the end of the bay, and pressed a few buttons. The door opened, and the Marines filed out. Kelly and I filed out behind the scientists, and into the hangar. From there, our first objective was the mess hall.

In all of my career as a Space Marine, I had never seen a scene of carnage quite like this one. In front of me were the mangled bodies of several Swarmlings and Hunters and scientists alike. The Swarmlings were about the size of a large dog, with three large claws on each foot. Their bodies were a universal mottled brown, covered in scales like a dragon's, with teeth to match. The Hunters were six feet tall easily, the whole thing about ten feet, and had long, snake-like bodies. Both arms ended in a pair of long, scythe-like talons. Mouths were full of highly toxic, interlocking needles. They sported the same dragon-like scales as the Swarmlings. Over on the other side of the mess hall, the tables from the mess hall had been gathered into a barricade. Parker gave the all clear, and the troops and scientists filed in. The reactions were mixed among the force. The scientists immediately ran over to the corpses and set upon them. The Marines were a bit less enthusiastic. Parker turned to face his charges, and was greeted by the sight of one Marine opening his helmet and vomiting. The Marine gasped for air, then wiped a small line of spit from his chin, and reattached the helmet.

I couldn't blame the poor guy. Over the radio, Parker said "I want to see those tables moved to provide cover. We have two exits to cover. Get it done." We went to work immediately, though we were slowed by the scientists' insistence to not step on the corpses, and the discovery of some of the rotted bodies of the station's crew. After about thirty minutes, though, we had moved the tables to block the door ways. It was just in time too.

* * *

Kelly and I were covering the entrance on the side we had come in through. I heard shots come from the other barricade, and eventually was treated to the sight of Swarmlings and Hunters coming at their barricade. They were live versions of the corpses in the room. We helped hold the line, firing at any of the ones that got past the other Marines' rifles. They were fast little buggers, but not tough. They were ripped up fairly easily by gunfire, but there were a lot of them, and some of them got through. I took a bite to my right arm, and the pain was blinding. I didn't see Kelly take a hit, thank god, but I did see a Marine go down when a Swarmling jumped over the barricade and into his face, shattering his helmet, and another when one of the Hunters dragged its claws through her chest. I heard both of their screams over the helmet radio, and heard a scream over the radio when a Marine on the other barricade took a fatal hit.

When the things stopped coming, Kelly had me get my wound checked out. They needed me to stay back for observation. She sighed, and looked at the scientists, and frowned. I knew what she was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. The scientists were only getting in the way. They were five untrained people that could've been replaced with trained soldiers.

_Are you OK, Miles? I didn't see what got you._ Kelly's voice sounded in my head.

I shook my head. **One of the Swarmlings leaped over the barricade and took a bite.** I thought. **It didn't bite through the armor, but it broke the bone on the inside. It hurts like shit, but the armor already locked the arm. I won't be able to do much.**

Kelly put her hand on mine. I winced. _I know you'll make it through._ _You're a strong guy._

I was about to reply when Parker came over the radio. "Listen up, everyone! We are splitting up. Our objectives are as they were. Investigate the Xander's core, and get out alive. We are splitting into three teams."

I was stuck back at the mess hall leading "Home Team". Parker would lead "Alpha Team" to the living quarters, and from there to the core. Kelly was with "Beta Team", and would be moving to the archives, where they would try to figure out what happened on the station. Before they left, though, the scientists confirmed everyone's suspicions; Whatever these things were, they weren't even distantly related to anything on Earth. Whatever they were, they were aliens. The briefing had left out one very important piece of information: The Swarm was on the station.

* * *

About an hour later, I was still waiting around for something to happen. The men at the barricades had turned away the occasional Swarmling, but otherwise, all was quiet on the home front. I was almost glad to have Parker call me up, since it broke the dull monotony.

"Miles, this is Parker. Report."

"Miles here. Everything is all clear on our side."

"Any word from Beta?"

"They ran into one or two runners, but other than that they are fine. I'll keep you posted."

"Great. Parker out."

I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. One of the scientists came up to me.

"Yes?"

"We have some new information about Swarm creatures we found."

I stood up. "Show me."

The scientist brought me over to a place where one of the dissected corpses was laid down, and knelt down beside it. The scientist pointed to the head of the Swarmling.

"It really is fascinating. These creatures have developed a structure in their brains that we only see in a few select cases."

"What kind of cases, exactly?" I asked.

"Typically, the structure is only found in hives about to change queens, or that have just changed queens. However, this station couldn't have any other broods on it, so there couldn't be another Swarm Queen to replace this one."

"What about telepaths like Kelly or me?" I asked. "I remember reading a report about how Swarm Queens have taken in telepaths as a way to expand their control over their broods. Is it possible that a telepath could become a Queen?"

The scientist frowned. "It is possible, but I've never heard of a case that ended well for the psychic involved. Most times a psychic is taken by the swarm, the virus turns the psychic off. In the rare case where the psychic isn't turned off, The Swarm's virus causes an uncontrollable increase in the psychic's ability, and the heart over-works itself trying to keep up the supply of blood."

I frowned. "Doesn't sound like a pleasant way to go."

The scientist nodded. "There are rumors in the research community about a possible way to circumvent the psychic turn-off without the uncontrollable increase, but it would require a genetic mutation that is found in very few people. If I remember correctly, you and Kelly are such people. However, it's only a rumor."

I nodded. "Either way, let's not test it."

The scientist nodded. Changing the subject, he said, "So, any word from Beta?"

I was about to answer when...

_Miles!_

**Kelly?**

_Miles, we are under attack!_

**What? Where are you?**

_ We are at the archive! There's too many of them! You have to hel..._

Her mind tore away. A tear rolled down my cheek. I wouldn't lose her. I grabbed my gun with my left hand. On the radio, I said "Beta Team is under attack. I'm mounting a relief. You troops are to stay here and protect the scientists. You get me?"

A unanimous "Aye." sounded through the radio. I nodded, and leaped over the barricade, and sprinted off towards the Archive.

* * *

After fighting my way through a decent number of Swarmlings, I was almost to the Archives when Parker called me up again.

"Miles, talk to me."

"Parker? What's your situation?"

"Out of the fire and into the furnace. You?"

"Oh, nothing. Just mounting a one-man rescue mission."

"What!? You left the mess hall? Are you insane?! Get your ass back or I'll..."

"You'll what? Shoot me? Demote me? I have duty to family. Kill me when she's safe."

"Damn it, Miles!"

I cut the radio line, and looked up. The rattle of gunfire was apparent, and I braced myself for what I would see.

* * *

It was a scene of carnage not unlike what had been seen in the mess hall. Dead bodies of Swarm and Marines alike were strewn everywhere. It was a bloody mess, and even worse, the Archive terminal was totaled.

Kelly was hard pressed to stay alive. The rest of her team had been killed in the initial ambush and the bloodbath that followed it in the short ten minutes since she had contacted me. She was running out of ammo. A Swarmling came charging her from her right. Kelly let a burst of fire loose. Another to her left, and another burst. A Hunter in front of her got the last shot Kelly had in her SMG, but it was still coming. Kelly switched to her pistol, and plugged one round after the other into the alien. She reloaded, and turned to her left in time to see two Swarmlings charging her. She plugged one, then stabbed the other with her knife. A Hunter came from the same direction, and she plugged it as well. A Hunter moved up behind her. I didn't let it get far, and drove my knife into it with all my might. Kelly nodded, then raised her pistol. I ducked and rolled under the gun as she fired, hitting the Swarmling that was moving up. I drew my SMG and burst fired at some Swarmlings.

* * *

When the flow of aliens stopped, we took inventory. I had gone out of SMG ammunition, but we had scavenged plenty of pistol ammo, as well as rifles and rifle ammo from the dead Marines.

**You OK, Kelly?**

_Fine now that you're here. How's your arm?_

** Still hurts like shit. Running here from the Mess Hall didn't help.**

_You bring anyone else?_

**Nope.**

_Why the hell not?_

**They made a major breakthrough that I wanted them to follow up on. They needed all the protection they could get.**

_Then we should get back before more aliens come._

We got up, but stopped when Parker came through the door to the archive, gun raised. When he saw us, he lowered the weapon.

"The hell did I miss?"

"Kelly lost her entire force. Then I came, and we kicked Swarm ass. Then you came. Now we are here."

Parker shook his head. "Well, we should start back to camp."

* * *

When we returned to camp, Alpha Team had already returned. I did some mental math. Three Marines and a scientist went down during the first attack, with two injuries, a Marine and a scientist. Parker had lost one during an attack on his Alpha Team, and one was injured. Kelly's Beta Team had been annihilated, though she was uninjured. Out of the twenty three Marines that had come here, there were fourteen left, two of them injured. Four scientists were alive, one injured. They couldn't risk splitting up agai...

"They're coming from above!" Miles looked up to see Swarmlings breaking through the vent covers and dropping down on them. "Open fire!"

Rifles popped, cutting through the falling aliens. However, about two minutes in, one of the Marines shouted through the radio, saying "Hunters! They're attacking at the barricades!"

Then, everything went straight to hell. We were caught between the falling Swarmlings and the Hunters at the barricades, when it happened. A glob of purple splattered onto a Marine next to me. I watched in horror as the stuff slowly spread over the Marine's armor. Another glob splattered next to me. Some of the goo splashed onto me, and it started to spread over my armor, reducing my mobility. I looked up to see a sight that was almost funny. A Hunter was staring me down, toothless. I would've laughed if it's mouth hadn't filled with the purple goo, then spat it out at me. I dodged the ball, and brought my rifle up. I let off a quick burst, and caught the Hunter in the chest. I looked around. The other marines and scientists were quickly being taken down. Kelly was standing right behind me. I didn't think. I just grabbed her and ran.

* * *

We ran for what felt like hours, gunning down the Swarm as we found them. Eventually, we just stopped and sat down, catching our breath. I took the chance to scrape off the purple goop with my knife. It looked like... No, there was no way.

_Miles?_

**Yeah, Kelly?**

_I can't raise anyone on the radio. I... I'm scared. What do we do?_

**The queen... We kill the queen. Then the brood goes dormant until another one takes over.**

_The core..._

I nodded. **Energy for sustenance, room for eggs.** I stood, and looked over to her. **We need to go now. Every second we wait is another second lost.**

* * *

Our journey to the station core was eerily quiet. No Swarmlings attacked us, no Hunters popped into view. It remained silent until we passed the door to the document-locker.

_Miles?_

**Yeah?**

_We should check out the doc-room._

**Why?**

_We might find something in there that could help us figure out what happened here._

**You're probably right, but we need to be quick.**

_Right. Hour tops._

* * *

We found things I'd never dreamed of. The UTA, my United Terran Alliance, was researching ways to control The Swarm, to use it as a weapon. They'd developed prototype technology that could scramble the Hive-link that a Swarm Queen shared with it's brood. They'd discovered that telepaths could actually control small numbers of Swarm creatures, provided they were severed from the Hive-link. Telepaths like us. This station was also testing the adaptive capability of The Swarm, and had detailed methods for altering Swarmlings into a strain that could only be controlled by telepaths.

They also had files on registered psychics in the service. Files on me and Kelly. The files were annotated with things like "suitable candidate", "likely to reject", and "further info required". Kelly's file and mine were marked "acquire for project at all costs".

**K-Kelly... This... I...**

_How could this be? Are we nothing but tools for the UTA? And are they really trying to use The __Swarm as a weapon? Could they really do something like that?_

**We can ask after we get off of this forsaken station. Come on, we need to kill the queen, and get to the hangar.**

Kelly nodded, and moved to the door. It opened, and she stepped through...

And right into the claws of a Hunter. I heard the chatter of her rifle, killing the Hunter even as its claws tore through her stomach.

"KELLY!" Tears streamed down my face. I ran forward, catching her as she fell.

"M...Miles." Kelly whispered. "I feel cold."

"N...no, you'll be OK. You'll be OK." I said as I held Kelly gingerly.

I couldn't hope to get her to a ship without pacifying the brood on the station first, but if I left her there, she'd die. I had to stay with her. I carried Kelly towards the core.

* * *

The core was like nothing that I had ever seen. The walls and floors were coated with the same purple slime that the Hunters had spat: The Creeper, a substance that was just as alive as the rest of The Swarm. The stuff seemed to stick to my boots as I walked. All along the walls, green eggs pulsed, each one like a heart. In the middle of the room, sitting on six spidery legs, was the Swarm Queen. It looked at me with its glowing yellow eyes, and I instantly felt dizzy. I had touched its mind, felt the staggering weight of its mental connection with its brood. It looked at Kelly, and let out a low hiss. I gingerly set Kelly onto the ground, and pulled out my rifle. I carefully took aim, and shot the thing dead, then liberally emptied my clip into it. Then I picked up Kelly and turned to leave, when my heart sank.

Blocking my way was a Hunter, its maw open to reveal a massive gob of purple. I slowly knelt down, and placed Kelly's unmoving body back on the floor. Then, as fast as I could, I pulled my pistol from its holster and took aim. The Hunter heaved at the same time I took my shot. I expected my round to penetrate the Hunter's headcase. I didn't expect the glob that the Hunter heaved to harden into a projectile midair. The purple spear hit me directly, forcing its way through my stomach, and out the other side. The pain was far too much for me. The last thing I remember thinking before I blacked out was how no one would know the truth of what happened here.

* * *

When I came to, my head was spinning, but my side wasn't in much pain as it should have been. I tried to stand, but I couldn't. The purple goo had grown over my body, leaving only my head exposed.. My vision was fuzzy, but as I looked around, I could see a figure standing at the other side of the room. Why weren't she helping me? I shouted "HEY!", and she looked over at me. She ran over to me. As my vision cleared, I thought she looked a lot like Kelly, but the girl was different.

Kelly had beautiful brown hair, and she only grew it to her shoulders. This one had black hair down to her back. Kelly's skin had been a beautiful tan. This... thing, I decided, was covered in a brown carapace like the other creatures of The Swarm, though her face was left untouched... I was unsure if the figure really was who I thought it was.

_Miles..._

**K-Kelly? That can't be you, can it?**

_It is, Miles._

**Kelly... I'm sorry, Kelly.**

_Why? The scientists were right. Without a Swarm Queen to lead it, a creature of The Swarm is susceptible to other influences. What the scientists hadn't counted on was a telepath _becoming _a Queen._

**Kelly, please. This isn't you.**

_You're right, Miles. It's better. I have power. I could do anything if I wanted to. But something is missing: You._

**Me? Kelly, what are you talking about?**

_Don't you get it Miles? They figured it out. How to control The Swarm. I can do it. You could too. All __you'd have to do is join me. Just accept the change, Miles. I want you by my side._

**Kelly, I can't do that. No matter how badly I may want to, it's The Swarm! I can't see myself doing that, even if it is with you.**

She knelt down beside me. _All you have to do is let me in. Give in to me, to my will._ She moved her face an inch from mine. _Just try to say no. Do it, and I'll let you go. You have my word._

Then, she kissed me. As she kissed me, she flooded my mind with thoughts of her. Love. Adoration. Obedience. Bliss. I struggled to keep my mind clear, but she was strong. I closed my eyes, tried to concentrate.

_There. That's it. Just obey. It feels good to do exactly as I say._

The cocoon that had wrapped around me stimulated my body, clouding my mind with arousal. At the same time, I could feel a new presence in my mind. It was vast, undefined, yet I felt like I could pick out the individual pieces. I realized with a shock that I was feeling a connection to The Swarm, to a brood... to _her_ brood. I could tap into their senses. I could see what they saw, hear what they heard.

_Just forget about leaving me, Miles. Stay here with me. Stay by my side._

**Kelly... please... stop...**

_Why would I want to do that? Miles, I don't want to lose you. Just stay with me._

**Stay? **A wave of pleasure rocked my body as I thought the word.** Kelly, I... **I managed to clear my head. **I can't. Please... Please let me leave.**

The fog cleared out of my mind. I looked at Kelly. She had on a frown. _You really are a stubborn one, Miles. Once you've decided on something, there's no changing your mind. _She smiled, her eyes flashed. _I always loved that about you._

**Kelly, I-**

_Miles, I love you. We will meet again, eventually. Maybe then, you will have changed your mind._

The cocoon around my body receded slowly. My armor was gone. My body felt different. There was an odd feeling throughout it, an almost... density. I could still feel Kelly's brood in my mind, though the connection was less overpowering. My muscles felt more concentrated, too.

**This is... What did you do to me?**

_You are incomplete, Miles. Consider it a parting gift._

**What do you mean, 'incomplete'?**

_I was changing you in anticipation of you joining me. When you said no, I worked to keep you outwardly human. However, you are now anything but._

**What do you-**

_Your skin will harden if something hits it. Your mind can work much faster and more efficiently. Your senses are sharper. Your body is stronger, and regulates its own temperature more effectively._

**And the link? The... I can still...**

_Irreversible. Once you've joined The Swarm, you can't leave. You'll always be with us. With me. Wherever you go. You can dull it as much as you want, but it will always be there._

I shivered. **So can you tap into my senses like you can with your brood?**

_Not quite like I can with my brood. You would be able to tell when I'm trying to tap into your senses. You could dull your connection with me. The distance will also make it hard to keep tabs on you._

I stood up, and looked Kelly in the eyes. **I love you. Even now.**

_I love you too. Now go._

I turned and walked towards the exit of the room. _I'll be seeing you again, eventually._

* * *

Kelly allowed me to leave the station. From the core, I wasted no time in getting to the hangar, grabbing the dropship, and getting the hell off of that forsaken thing. I set the autopilot to take me back down to Earth while I grabbed a spare suit from the dropship's storage locker.

About an hour later, I cut the autopilot, and was at the controls for a while until I was hailed by my destination: Pearl Harbor.

"Unidentified craft, you are entering restricted military airspace. Identify yourself immediately or you will be shot down."

"This is captain Miles Hanson, UTA Space Marines. 1st division, 5th brigade, 8th battalion, C company. I'm here on return from my mission to the _Xander_, but I need to talk with my commander."

"Hang on, I'll patch you through."

There was a short silence. "Miles?"

"Commander."

"How'd the mission go, son? I've been in the dark for a while."

"Sir, the mission was an absolute failure. The station was crawling with The Swarm. Everyone else... I'm the only one left, sir."

"What? You mean... The others..."

"Sir, I'm requesting permission to land for a full debrief."

"Permission granted, Captain. Clear for landing on pad 34."

* * *

I took the dropship in slow, trying to keep my head level. I was already starting to come up with questions and answers. When I landed, I was escorted to the debrief by a pair of armed guards. Even once I arrived, they remained close at hand.

Across the room from me was Pearl's command staff, all eagerly awaiting my report.

"The mission to investigate the _Xander_'s sudden cease in communications was, in a way, successful. The force sent up discovered the cause."

"And that cause would be?" One of the commanders asked.

"Swarm." I said simply. "We encountered hostile Swarm organisms onboard the _Xander_."

"How bad were the casualties?" Another commander asked.

"I'm the only one that made it off of the station."

"Were any left on the station, to your knowledge?" The third asked.

I swallowed hard, and nodded. "My co-pilot, Kelly Swanson... She was taken... captured and changed."

"You mean to tell us that..." The commander didn't finish.

"Yes sirs. She's been infested. She allowed me to go free on account of our previous relationship."

"Which would be?"

"Engaged for marriage."

There was a silence. The three commanders looked at each other silently.

"You have our deepest condolences." One said finally. "Is there anything that we can do to ease the pain?"

I didn't think, I simply spoke. "You can answer a question that has been nagging at me."

They frowned. "What question?" One asked.

I sighed. Might as well go all he way, I decided. "We found documents onboard the _Xander_, detailing UTA research into the possibility of using the Swarm as a weapon against other factions. Kelly's file, as well as my own, were among the documents, where we were listed as highly valuable subjects."

I looked right at each of them. "Was that mission just a way to further UTA research? Did those men and women die so that the UTA could try to control the Swarm?"

There was a long silence. "Captain Miles Hanson, you are hereby relieved of active duty." One finally said. "You will be put on the reserve list, and are to take up a non-combat role within the week."

I was stunned. "Then it _was_ just a test!" I said coldly.

"We didn't say that." A commander said.

I shook my head angrily. "No, but you didn't deny it either."

One of the commanders stood angrily. "On account of your previous service record, we will allow that comment to go unpunished." He took a deep breath. "Leave. _Now_."

* * *

Now, Miles looked at the force assembled in front of him. He couldn't help but think back to Parker, to how he'd felt in this situation. In front of Miles was the best that New Earth had to offer. Fifty élite Space Marines, each with just as much experience as Parker. He cleared my head. Now wasn't the time for remembering.

"Alright, boys, here's the situation. We're being dropped off on Saranis." That statement alone was enough to fill in many of the blanks. "For those of you in need of a refresher course, Saranis is home to some of the purest Kaithennu crystals that have ever been seen. These things power our warp drives, and a crystal no bigger than a golf ball is needed to power a super-carrier. However, these crystals are also incredibly important to our foes. Kaal'Thaasans use them in their ships as well, not to mention in their energy weapons, and The Swarm uses them as catalysts for accelerated mutations.

We are currently in control of the largest deposits on the planet, with Swarm and Kaal'Thaasan forces controlling smaller deposits. However, recently, Swarm attacks against the largest deposit on the planet, Sigma-Echo, has intensified, coinciding with a certain brood's appearance on the scene."

He paused as this information set in. "We are going to Sigma-Echo to reinforce, and, if possible, eliminate the threat."

* * *

The snap of rifles filled the air, and Miles was instantly on alert. Where was the contact? What should he be expecting? A beam-rifle? A set of lethal talons? He turned to look at the other three men with him.

Two rifles were pointed at him, his 2iC laying dead on the ground, a bullet hole obvious against the green of his armored helmet.

"What the hell!" Miles said, lifting his own rifle. "Your side, damn it!"

More rifle fire filled the air. Miles took three shots to his gut, one to a lung, but he'd managed to take one out with him. The other soldier now stood over him, rifle barrel pointed between Miles' eyes.

Then, the man's body was torn in half at the waist, blood and gore spilling everywhere. Fighting past the darkness that slowly encroached on his vision, the building numbness throughout his body, and the deafening silence that flooded his ears, she was there.

"Don't die on me, Miles!" She said. Through the deafness, those words struck a chord in him. She pressed down on his chest and gut, fighting to slow or stop him from bleeding out. She looked familiar. The emerald eyes, the chocolate-brown hair... He had to remind himself that it wasn't really her, no matter how badly he wanted it to be. She'd been taken from him, turned into a monster, into an enemy.

* * *

Why, then, did he keep having that dream? Since his arrival on Saranis a month ago, he'd had that dream every night. Deciphering the meaning was simple: Kelly was going to save Miles from a betrayal. That raised even more questions, though. Why would he be betrayed? How would she be able to save him?

Miles sighed. A month of heavy combat, of looking over his shoulder, of close calls and near misses. Today, he was supposed to provide a situational report to High Command, but there wasn't much to report. He walked out of the metal structure that was his barracks, and moved quickly to the communications center.

"Commander Miles, your line's waiting." The comms officer said.

Miles nodded. "Thanks." He walked over to one of the hand-helds on the wall, and pt it up to his ear.

"Miles Hanson, Access code Cmd–001–SiEc." There was a short tone to tell him that he was connected.

"...gress on capturing that bitch?" The commander said.

"Excuse me?" Miles said.

"She's still at large, even with Miles there to lead." Came the voice of Roger Vernont. Miles checked the mode of his hand-held. Receive only.

"We both know how important she is to the project." The commander said. "She's survived the infestation, and actually controls an entire brood of her own, even assimilated smaller broods into her own."

"That's a lot of power." Roger said. "What makes you so sure that she'll give it up willingly?"

"She won't." The commander said. "That's why we put Miles on that planet. All that needs to be done now is to use him as bait to lure her in."

"I get it." Roger said. "Then, we capture her, recondition her, and use her brood as a weapon."

Miles couldn't take anymore. He hung up, and left the comms center. Meanwhile, his mind was racing. He was being used! Again! The UTA hadn't changed at all! They'd used him before, and now they were doing it again! They were using him to get to...

To Kelly. Miles felt the link to her. As always, it was there. He sighed, and focused on it.

**Kelly?**

_Miles? Is that you?_

**No, Kelly. I'm the other human that you've created a psionic link with.**

_Why are you contacting me?_

**The UTA... They're still using me, Kelly. Even after all this time, all they want is the power. They want you, and they were going to use me to get you.**

_What do you mean, Miles? Where are you?_

**Sigma-Echo.**

_You're on Saranis? I... This is a lot to process._

**Where are you, Kelly?**

_Just follow your link, Miles. I'll be waiting._

* * *

Miles had left the base on the premise of some solo recon. After that, he'd quickly deactivated his tracker, stripped off his armor, and bolted, following the connection that he had with Kelly and her brood. It wasn't long before he'd arrived on the Creeper, and he was met by a pair of Swarmlings, ready to attack this intruder.

They stopped when they felt his connection to their own brood. They remained motionless, torn between slaying this obvious intruder, and welcoming a member of their brood. Then, they turned and began walking towards the center of the Creeper. Miles followed.

* * *

She looked as she had back on the _Xander_, not a day older, no worse for wear. She was still beautiful.

_Do you trust me?_

**I do, my queen-to-be.**

She smiled. _Lower your mental defenses. Welcome this change as it envelopes you. Embrace this new form, this new purpose._

Miles nodded, and took a deep breath. Slowly, the cocoon formed around his body, and as it did, his thoughts turned, not to fear, but to anticipation. Rebirth...

* * *

The snipers were shocked. Kelly had actually left the safety of her hole in the dirt. One of them drew a bead on her leg, hoping that the shot would be painful enough to sever her control. He tightened his trigger, removing the slack behind it. He took a deep breath.

"Holy shit!" His spotter gasped. "Look! Coming out of the cavern!"

The sniper forced himself to give up the perfect shot to follow protocol and see what had his partner so riled up.

He would've dropped the rifle if it hadn't been on the bipod. The figure looked like Kelly. Same shining emerald eyes, same brown carapace, same general appearance. But the face... The sniper had only seen one person who looked like that, and he'd disappeared a few days ago on recon.

"Is... Is that Miles?" He said, disbelieving. That was the second to last thing that entered his mind. The last thing that entered his mind were Kelly's talons.

* * *

Blackboxing

* * *

Swarmlings and Hunters rushed forward, yet another wave thrown against Sigma-Echo's defenses. Just like the waves before it, this one was met by withering fire that erupted from several strong-points across the perimeter, the soldiers inside blasting away with small-arms fire as the Swarm made yet another attempt to break through, supported by Spitters, the mutated Hunter strains.

Sarah's fire was straight and true, cutting through one Swarmling after the other. The clatter of her merged with that of her fellow marines, ceasing only as she reloaded.

The Swarm didn't stop, though. It seemed that every moment that Sarah was conscious was filled by the clatter of rifles, the dying shrieks of Swarmlings, Hunters, and Spitters.

However, today didn't seem like it would end well. Miles, their commanding officer, was MIA, and rumor had it that he'd met the same end as Kelly had on the _Xander_. Many of the outer defense posts had been overrun, leaving Sigma-Echo a small island in a vast ocean of the Swarm. Many of the resupply dropships that tried to fly in were being taken out by Hornets: twenty-foot-long wasps whose venomous stings doubled as a powerful acid capable of dissolving most metals, and whose powerful mandibles could cut an armored soldier in half.

The only upside was that the fleet in orbit would keep trying to break them loose, to get them out of there. But even rescue seemed to be a dream that would never be realized. Between the constant attacks, ever-shortening supplies, and an all-time-low morale, Sarah knew that it would only be a matter of time before the Swarm would overrun their position.

The crackle of her radio brought the worst news possible. "We're being overrun!" Came the panicked cry. "The Swarm broke through!"

Sarah's mind began to race. With the Swarm inside of their perimeter, they couldn't hold the position anymore. Evacuation by air would be impossible. They couldn't wait to be cut down, but they couldn't run or hide...

"Abandon the outer defenses and retreat to the command center! We can make our stand there!"

Sarah marveled at how calm that voice sounded. Despite the odds, someone had kept their head long enough to come up with a plan that actually might work. The command center was a fortress in and of itself, with access to communications, the rest of their supplies, and external automated defenses. It was perfect.

She didn't question the order. She simply ran. The strong-point she'd been posted at was the closest to the command center, so she was the first there. Quickly, she turned on her heel and began to provide covering fire for the others that were running for their last hope of survival...

* * *

The command center was a citadel. Automatic turrets, a high roof perfect for snipers, extremely thick outer walls, and energy-sheathed blast doors. Nothing would get in, and nothing wanted to get out.

Peering through the scope of her weapon, Sarah shook her head in confusion and relief. The Swarm had turned on itself for a moment, almost as though seperate factions had ended a fight for dominance. That respite was short lived, and soon the Swarm was destroying the derelict equipment that had been left behind. Tanks, ammo dumps, mining equipment, all of it up in smoke.

"Sarah, we got the generator at full capacity, hydroponics pods are running, and the condensers are full-bore." Came the call over the radio.

"Thanks, Jack." Sarah said, acknowledging her partner, squad-mate, and childhood friend. "We can just hole up and sit tight. Is there any word on reinforcements?"

"Negative." Came the response.

Sarah sighed. "Well, tell me when-"

"No, Sarah, that was the reply. Negative. We're getting no reinforce."

Sarah went silent, her mind a blur. Hundreds of questions raced through her head, none of them with an answer.

"Sarah?" Jack asked.

"Jack, meet me up here in five."

* * *

"The fuck!" Sarah yelled. "Why wouldn't they reinforce us?" Sarah continued to pace, trying to work out her agitation.

"No one gets it." Jack admitted. "The fact that they'd throw away our lives, and this deposit, too! It makes no sense!"

Sarah shook her head angrily, and walked to the edge of the roof, looking down over the clearing below. The command center was situated on one end of a a clearing, pushed up against a sheer rock cliff. At the other end of the clearing, the Creeper was starting to encroach.

"I'm blackboxing this." Sarah said finally.

Jack nodded. "I'll see if I can get your food and water sent up here. Seeing as how you'll be spending your time up here, you'll probably land sentry duties, too."

Sarah nodded. "Thanks, Jack."

* * *

Day 1: The Swarm cleared out all of our equipment that they'd destroyed, piled it all up in the middle of the clearing. They left nothing off the pile, not one shred of ammo or one scrap of metal.

* * *

Day 2: Hunters surrounded the scrap pile and sprayed it with Creeper. Over the course of the day, the pile dissolved into the Creeper. Also, the Creeper continued to encroach on the clearing.

* * *

Day 3: New organism discovered! At the far end of the clearing, I caught a glimpse of a centipede-like organism. I've estimated its length at fifteen feet. The head bears a pair of feeler tentacles, and the overall color is the same mottled brown as the other Swarm creatures. I only saw it for a moment, it moved so fast! From the edge of the clearing, it took a few short seconds for it to approach the scrap pile, and burrow into it.

* * *

The gunfire was what woke her. She was up in an instant, full alert. She moved over to the edge of the roof, and looked below. Automatic turrets were firing at a group of Swarmlings below, illuminated by a pair of floodlights. They beat mercilessly against the tempered neosteel walls of the command center. Sarah took her grenades from her belt, pulled the safety pins, and tossed them into the boiling mass of bodies below.

There were two explosions as the high explosive/fragmentation warheads detonated, and the Swarmlings were mostly maimed, with a few dead. The Swarmlings retreated.

* * *

Day 4: Corpses still sitting at the gates, and crawler still inside of the scrap pile. What is it doing in there?

* * *

Day 5: SHIT! There are Kaithennu crystals in the scrap pile! Can't do anything. Guess I get to see how Crawlers mutate.

* * *

"Sarah, wake up!" Jack said. She was up instantly.

"What's going on, Jack?"

"Something grew on top of the scrap pile!"

Sarah moved to the edge of the roof, and looked down. Atop the growing on the scrap pile was what looked like a misshapen organ. "What is that thing?" Sarah cried.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know, Sarah."

There was a short pause, and Jack spoke again. "Sarah, you're worrying me. You've been up here for five days straight, and the only time you ever come down is to use the shitter."

Sarah smiled. "Thanks for the concern, Jack, but I'm fine. Just trying to wrap my head this whole thing."

Jack nodded. "Well, if you ever need anything, or someone to talk to, come find me."

* * *

Day 7: That thing on the scrap pile grew a large tube today. Creeper is starting to seep out from underneath, out to around a meter.

Just realized that the trees around the clearing are still alive, even after a week of exposure to the Creeper. I can see patches of Creeper growing on the trees, but, if anything, they're blooming. I need to ask an egg-head about that.

* * *

Day 8: Creeper growth from the scrap pile has stopped at about ten feet. The... tumor, for lack of a better description, has gone from a dome to a cone with sunken sides. There also appears to be some sort of bulb forming on top of it.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it shouldn't be possible!" The first scientist said.

"Then explain how it is!" The second retorted.

"Look, guys, it isn't that big of a deal." Sarah said in an attempt to diffuse the situation. The scientists looked at her like she was crazy.

"It's extremely important! This is proof that the Creeper is able to affect more than just animals! It can infect plants too!" The second scientist cried.

"But it shouldn't be possible for something like that to happen!" The first shouted. "All other experiments involving Creeper and plants ended with the Creeper releasing a toxin that ended up killing off the plant in question!"

Sarah's eyes widened. "Have you ever conducted this kind of test using Creeper from Kelly's brood?"

They looked at each other. "No." They admitted. "Studies pertaining to her brood have, as a general rule, been unsuccessful."

"How so?" Sarah asked.

"No support, no funding, shut down, outlawed, banned, take your pick."

Then now's the perfect opportunity! There's no one to stop you from making the tests, unless you're telling me that you're going to follow the rules set forth by the people that tried to kill you!"

* * *

Day 10: Yesterday was crazy. Scientists jumped at the chance to conduct new tests. It was me and just me and Jack, alone, on a quick retrieval mission. Just us in broad daylight, covered by about fifty marines atop the command center.

It was crazy to even think that it would work. In all respects, it shouldn't have. That's why Jack and I left without our rifles: When we died, the others would only be short two pistols and four clips of ammunition.

I approached the tumor. It was about a half-foot taller than me, with the bulb adding another two. The main body pulsed at a slow, steady tempo, the slimy skin dark purple, contrasting with the orange bulb. I took a deep breath, and cut a small sliver of the Creeper from the ground. Then, I turned around and sprinted back to the command center. Not one shot fired, not one life lost. It was too easy.

* * *

Day 12: Last night, I did something stupid. I left the command center without telling anybody. No armor, no gun. I moved to the tumor, standing on the Creeper as I looked at it. What was it? What was its purpose?

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Came a voice. I whirled around to see... Her. Kelly. Even if I'd brought my gun, my armor, and some backup, I wouldn't have been able to survive.

She walked right past me, and put her hand on the tumor. "It's still alive, you know." She said, turning to face me. "Just asleep."

"I figured as much." I said, nodding.

"Just a few more days, and then it will bloom." She said.

"What then?" I asked. "Plan on attacking us again? Good luck with that, seeing how well that worked last time." I turned and walked away.

Or I tried to, at least. After my first step, the creeper had begun crawling up my left leg. After a few seconds, it was up to the middle of my shin. I struggled against my bond, but to no avail. I felt the Creeper move up my right leg as well, and I froze.

"I wasn't done talking." Kelly said coldly as she moved in front of me, her eyes a burning yellow. "You'd do well to listen to what I have to say." She paused, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. When she opened them again, they'd become a brilliant green. "I didn't attack you. That wasn't my brood."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. I trust you. I mean, you're only keeping me here for my own good, right?"

"And once I've finished talking with you, I'll let you leave. But until then, I want you to listen to me." When I nodded, she continued. "I'm not your enemy. The UTA is. They are the ones that abandoned you, like they abandoned me. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all."

I nodded. "Is that all?"

She shook her head. "You're a very brave person. Not a psychic, but valuable nonetheless."

My eyes widened. "You want me... to join your brood?" I shook my head. "No way! No fucking way!"

She smiled and chuckled. "What's so funny?" I asked.

She shook her head. "That's how Miles reacted to me on the _Xander_. Memories."

I shook my head again. "No. I'm not going to join you."

She nodded. "Fine then. I respect your choice. She turned and began to walk away, but stopped to say "If you ever change your mind, just find me." Then, she turned and left. Slowly, the Creeper around my legs fell back to the ground, and I ran back to the command center.

* * *

Day 14: The tumor hatched today, like Kelly had said. The bulb had split open like petals, and a plume of orange dust erupted from it, accompanied by a sickeningly sweet odor. Whatever it was, it caused the Creeper nearby to explode into growth.

* * *

Day 15: I've been hearing voices in my head, and I'm starting to go crazy from it. Only thing is, no one else seems to be able to hear them. I want to draw a connection to the orange dust that the tumor puffed yesterday, but Jack was with me when it hatched, and he hasn't said he's noticed anything out of the ordinary...

* * *

Day 16: Scientists finished their tests over Kelly's Creeper. Apparently, this isn't the stuff they're used to dealing with. Other Creeper they've dealt with drills into the host organism and releases a powerful toxin that is lethal to most organisms. Kelly's Creeper, on the other hand, is actually partially benign. Plants benefited from the Creeper, improving the efficiency of their photosynthesis reactions, and in return providing excess energy to the Creeper. Kelly had figured out how to make a constant supply of energy.

* * *

Day 17: Some of the voices in my head have become more recognizable. I think that, somehow, I've unlocked some sort of hidden psionic abilities. However, there is a downside to it: despite my best efforts, I can't figure out how to turn it off.

I told Jack my theory. He said to keep it to myself, for my own sake. If word got out that I'd developed psionic abilities out of the blue like that, I'd become nothing more than a guinea pig. However, he did tell me that if anything else happened, to come find him. So now, I wait and hope.

* * *

Day 19: That tumor puffed again today. Jack and I both agree that, whatever it is, it was probably responsible for my psionic powers. For the rest of the day, though, I didn't think much about it. My head hurt too much to think.

* * *

Sarah lay awake atop the command center, the pounding in her head growing worse and worse with each passing minute. She sat up, and looked over to Jack, who was looking at her.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

Sarah shook her head. "My head feels like it's gonna blow unless I can let some of this pressure out!"

"Calm down." He said softly. "If this is linked to your psychic powers, then getting emotional won't help. Psychics and emotions don't mix well."

She sighed. "Then what should I do?"

"Just focus on something."

She nodded, and pulled out her pistol from its holster. Setting it down in front of her, she began to focus on it...

* * *

Day 20: I have telekinesis in addition to the telepathy that I already had. I'm starting to get scared, but at the same time, it's kind of addicting. There's a definite relation between the tumor outside and my psionic growth. Is this intentional? Is it an unintended side effect? Would this happen to all people? Just a select group? Am I unique?

* * *

Day 21: Last night, I left the command center again. I needed to get a better look at the tumor. I moved quickly, and soon found myself standing in front of the tumor. It hadn't grown any since the last time I'd been here, but there was something different about standing there in front of it the second time around.

"What brings you here?" Came a male voice. I turned to see two figures. One I recognized as Kelly, but the other's identity eluded me for a moment, until I looked into his eyes.

"The rumors are true." I gasped.

Miles nodded. "Doesn't mean I don't still care about my men. I got Kelly not to attack you, and I got you all into the command center."

My eyes widened. "That was you?"

He nodded. "I'm not about to let my own men die."

There was a short pause. "So, why are you here?"

"I've developed psionic powers, but I can't turn off the telepathy, and the telekinesis makes my head hurt if I don't use it every now and then. It's driving me crazy!"

Kelly frowned. "Were you a psychic to begin with?"

I shook my head. "That's not even the worst part. Some nights, I can hear thoughts that... aren't human."

Miles' eyes went wide as the realization hit him. "You're saying that-"

I nodded. "I've heard the Swarm."

_What did you do to her?_

_I didn't do anything! I asked her if she wanted to join me a week and a half ago, but she turned it down. I didn't infest her!_

_Then explain to me how a non-psychic developed psychic abilities and a connection to the Swarm!_

**I have a theory.** I projected. Both Kelly and Miles jumped in surprise.

_You can hear us?_ They projected. I nodded.

**All of this started when that thing bloomed.** I projected, pointing at the tumor.

_The Creeper tumor did this?_ Kelly projected, surprised.

I nodded. **My psychic growth coincides with those puffs of orange dust. Is it supposed to do that?**

Kelly shook her head. _Its purpose is to spread the Creeper, not create psionic abilities._

**Why then?** I asked. **Why only me, when someone els****e had been exposed just like I have? Why me? What makes me unique?**

Miles shook his head. _We don't know._

* * *

Day 24: The Creeper Tumor is working on a five-day cycle. It sprayed again today. By now, the Creeper has pushed up against the walls of the command center. Everyone is on high alert, waiting for an attack that will not come.

My psychic powers are developing. I can turn off the telepathy now, and what was once a debilitating headache is now an annoying tingle. I'm positive that the Creeper Tumor is responsible for my powers. I don't have a way to prove it, but I'm sure that it's the reason.

* * *

Day 26: I'm scaring myself. I really am. Yesterday, I discovered that I can do more than just read minds. I can delve into them... change them... destroy them.

He was a scientist. I was reading his mind, and... I don't know how, but... He just went... numb. One moment, his mind was racing, alive, full of activity. Then... nothing. I don't know what I did, how I did it, but suddenly... his mind was empty. Dead, even. Even more terrifying, his mind was pliable. I could've told him anything, and he'd believe it.

* * *

Day 27: The power at my disposal... It's scary, but at the same time, I'm captivated by it. I keep telling myself that I'll stop, but I don't want to. This power...

I'm glad that the UTA isn't going to pick us up. If they got a hold of me, figured out why... I won't let that happen.

* * *

Day 28: The Swarm... I can feel them, feel their thoughts, their minds surrounding me. I've even influenced some of their minds. I keep wondering about what I am. Am I Swarm? Am I human? I just don't know what I am anymore.

* * *

Day 30: Yesterday, we were picked up by the _America_, a super-carrier from the so-called Convert Fleet, led by Alex Schultz. The propaganda that the UTA feeds us paints them as savages that would kill us before taking us prisoner. I'm not surprised to learn that the opposite is true. He's a good man, and he cares for his crew, be they old or new.

I'm going to tell him. Give him the Black Box. He needs to know. He saved us. The least I can do is tell him.


	2. Converts

"Status report." Fleet Admiral Alex Shultz said.

"All systems are green, sir." His adjutant, captain Thomas Beck, said with a nod and a smile. "Crew is content, morale is good, and we haven't had a freak accident. I'd say that we might not have anything to worry about, but that'd be jinxing it."

"How far are we from the Kuhl'Dahri system?" Alex asked.

"We'll be passing through the system in about an hour, sir. Course plot is good for a straightaway shot."

Alex nodded, then returned to his thoughts, his face blank.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm sure that it's nothing." Thomas said.

Alex looked at his adjutant. "Am I really that easy to read, Thomas? Or are you a telepath?"

Thomas smiled and shook his head. "No sir, not a telepath, but in the year I've been on with you, I've noticed that whenever you're thinking about the mission, your brow furrows ever so slightly, and you always stare at that signet on your right hand ring finger."

Alex smiled. "Never know whether this mission'll be the last. I got a wife and two beautiful kids at home on Coronith."

Thomas nodded. "No worries. Your fleet's top-notch. I'm sure it'll handle it."

"Thank you, Thomas. You're dismissed."

Thomas nodded, turned on his heel, and left the Admiral's quarters, leaving Alex Shultz to check in with the rest of the fleet. They reported no issues, and were all in good operational status. Charlie Fleet was running at 100%. Their force was being sent to investigate the cause behind a series of disappearances in the Kuhl' Dahri system, which was in the middle of a heavily traveled route for commerce. Lone ships and heavily armed convoys alike would be forced out of warp upon coming into the system. Then, contact would be lost. To counter the threat, Alex's Charlie Fleet was being tasked with the investigation.

Alex Shultz was sure that a full fleet was overkill for what was probably just another den of pirates preying on helpless travelers. His flagship alone, the _America_, was crewed by a few thousand men, was powered by twin Nautilus-class warp drives, possessed a powerful Second Skin shielding system, and was equipped with a full complement of 350 Spectre multi-role fighters, and 150 Banshee strike craft. Also in his fleet was a pair of Taurus-Class battlecruisers, each equipped with a pair of twin turbolaser turrets for combat with other capital ships, and fifty plasma cannons for combat with smaller vessels. The sensor frigate that accompanied them was protected by three Phalanx-class destroyers, each armed with a single turbolaser and two Plasma Torpedo launchers. For point-defense against fighters, the fleet employed twenty Raven-class gun-runners armed with a few heavy repeater turrets. A force that was able to threaten an entire system into submission, though Alex figured that was the point.

The plan was to trick the pirates into thinking that they were just another supply convoy or smuggler group, trick them into the open, and annihilate them. However, the reports had kept worrying Alex. The convoys exited warp, and then all contact would be lost. Technology like that was beyond humanity, who had discovered warp travel by accident only a few centuries ago, the first functional warp engine developed only a century after discovering warp travel. Technology able to draw a ship out of slipspace like that was worth...

Alex froze. It was worth a fleet in trade. Was that what the UTA wanted? Would they really sacrifice a fleet to get it, give up thousands of lives just for a new weapon? He'd read the AAR of the _Xander_ Incident, and knew that the UTA had a dark side, but that was only a few dozen. Throwing away trillions of dollars and thousands of lives was unspeakable.

He shook his head. There was no way that the UTA would kill off a fleet like that. Even if the order came from the head of the UTA herself, there was no way that Fleet Command would go through with something like that. Besides, these were just pirates, ruffians, criminals that needed to be taken out. They were probably just faking a distress call. Regulations required that a ship investigate a distress call and report it. However, a ship couldn't report it if it was dead. The pirates were probably using jammers as well..

"Sir?" Came a garbled voice. Alex turned to face the six and a half-foot tall armored space marine captain and chief of security aboard the _America_.

"Sam, we've known each other since I took command of this fleet ten years back. Take off the helmet and cut the pleasantries."

"The latter, yes." Sam said. "The former, no. We're about to pass through. You're needed on the bridge."

Alex looked at the clock, surprised. "Sorry. I've been thinking." He stood up from his desk. "Let's go."

* * *

"Admiral on the bridge."Alex announced. The officers didn't stand and salute, but rather each gave a short, affirmative nod. Traditionally, each of those officers would've been shot out the airlock for failing to recognize a superior officer, especially a Fleet Admiral like Alex. However, Alex was a more progressive officer who didn't want his me to be distracted when they were about to enter a combat zone. He expected the salutes in the bowels of the ship, but not here when a moment's distraction could spell death for thousands.

Suddenly, the ship lurched, and the _America_ left warp, along with the rest of Charlie Fleet. All systems were functional, apparently, except for the warp engines. The twin Nautilus engines, designed to be able to continue to function under any circumstances, refused to fire.

"Incoming transmission, sir!" The communications officer announced. Alex was confused. was it one of the lost ships?

"Pull it up!" He ordered.

IT was a bluish-tan face, smooth like porcelain and almost completely devoid of features. No hair grew anywhere, the only break in the face came at the top of the face's gentle rise, in the form of two thin slits that Alex assumed were nostrils. However, he only realized there was a face after he'd finished staring at the amber pools that just above the nose.

"Greetings, Pale one." Came a feminine voice. "I am High Judicator Celestia, the Leader of the Kaal'Thaasan defense fleet based here at Kuhl'Dahri."

Alex collected his thoughts. "I am Alex Shultz, Fleet Admiral of the United Terran Alliance's Charlie Fleet. I'm here to investigate a series of disappearances in this system."

Celestia nodded. "Many ships have passed through this system, many with Swarm organisms onboard."

Alex felt the blood drain from his face, and ran through a mental list of ships that had been lost. _Galahad_, Heracles-class cargo shuttle, bound from a research station on Cryloth to another on Heldagyr with top-secret cargo. _Corona_, Heracles-class cargo shuttle bound from Zerebuu Bio-research to Grax Bio-research, top-secret cargo. The list went on for another dozen incidents. Each time, it was a military ship or convoy with the cargo being top-secret.

"I understand that they were carrying Swarm on-board," Alex said, "but you can't just destroy our ships, kill our people!" He lost control of his temper. "Those people had family, friends!"

"They carried harbingers of destruction through here, harbingers that we have sworn to eradicate." Celestia said coldly.

"No." Alex said. "No more. I won't fight you for destroying UTA ships. However, claiming lives like that, without provocation, will not go unpunished!"

"Very well." Celestia said. "If you wish to meet on the battlefield, then prepare your best!"

The transmission cut. Immediately, an officer said in alarm, "Multiple contacts appearing, They were cloaked, sir!"

Alex didn't think. By now, his response was drilled into his mind. He triggered the alarm, grabbed the ship's intercom mic, and spoke clearly.

* * *

The wail of the alarm broke Tyler's concentration, and his arm slammed into the table. "Ha! I win!" His wing-man, Tony, cried. Then, the rec room fell silent.

"General Quarters! General Quarters! Gunners to your stations! Pilots to the flight line! Security forces, suit up! This is not a drill. Charlie Fleet is under attack!"

No one in the room hesitated. Everyone got up, and ran.

* * *

The second that General Quarters was sounded, Amanda took off running for her guard station. She needed to get to her armor. Every second out of armor was another second that she could die. A stray bullet or piece of shrapnel, a nearby explosion. Anything could prove potentially fatal. Anything could kill.

* * *

Jackson was already at his terminal by the time that the General Quarters alarm finally stopped blaring. The _America_ lacked heavy weaponry to fight capital ships, and the weapons that were present were purely defensive weapons. At the mid-ship fire control station, he activated his weapons, and took a look through the viewfinder.

It was a golden tide. Hundreds of craft shot blue flames from behind as they charged towards the fleet. They were beautiful, with gentle, almost organic curves. Moving against them, horribly outnumbered, were 500 UTA craft.

* * *

Tyler took a deep breath, and punched the thrusters, sending his Spectre forwards like a bullet. Behind him, his wing followed suit.

"Alright, Firebirds. This isn't going to be an easy fight, and I can give you no guarantee that we'll be making it back alive. That's why I want to tell you this now: It's been an honor to serve with you. Now let's kick some alien ass!"

A cheer went up over the radio, and the UTA force crashed into the vast enemy force. Tyler's flight was in firing. Twin Gatling-style burst lasers shot from each Spectre's nose, cutting into the enemy ranks. Tyler's aim was true, and an enemy craft exploded into a burst of blue flames, before it extinguished itself in the vacuum. An enemy craft came at him from the left, and he pulled hard on the stick, passing over the craft as it passed below. As he broke, he fired into the enemy formation, spawning two more fireballs.

His craft shook as the Spectre's shields deflected a series of shots. He swore, and pulled hard again, struggling to see his foe.

He also saw that the battle had turned into a massacre. Everywhere he looked, orange flames erupted as a Banshee or Spectre was destroyed. His friends... His family... His blood boiled. He wouldn't just sit here and watch. He punched his thrusters again, and shot into the rear of the enemy formation.

* * *

Jackson fired again as another of the fighters crossed into his field of view. Another burst, another kill. The golden craft was another of the many that had broken through their screen. Most, if not all, were dead. His friends... how could they take his friends! He fired again and again, scoring one kill after another. They wouldn't die in vain!

Suddenly, the screen went black. Had his turret been hit? He tried to switch to another gun. Nothing happened.

"Fire control's off-line!" Someone cried. Then the ship shook. Jackson knew what was happening.

* * *

"Boarders!" Amanda yelled.

"Shit!" Came Sam's reply. "Lock and load. We gotta move!"

They grabbed their rifles, M20 MK.V pulse rifles, and loaded hundred-round magazines into them. Amanda nodded to Sam, who nodded back, and they moved out.

They didn't get far before they found a breach. A tube, about seven feet in diameter, was shoved through the hull of the _America_. An alien jumped out of the tube, and landed on the floor of the ship, amazingly nimble despite the armor it was wearing. On closer inspection, Amanda noticed that the armor was made up of several pieces that sat on its arms, legs, and chest. There was a noticeable gold color scheme, and it looked sturdy, but not invincible.

The Kaal'Thaasan turned to face Sam and Amanda as they raised their rifles to fire. The alien threw up his arms as they pulled the trigger...

A bright blue light expanded from the alien's forearms, blocking the bullets. It moved its right arm away as a red blade expanded from an emitter mounted at its wrist. The Kaal'Thaasan move forwards at a sprint, holding its shield up, unbreaking against Sam and Amanda's fire.

Suddenly, shots erupted from behind the Kaal'Thaasan, who collapsed as the bullets tore through its body. At the other end of the hall stood two marines, rifles raised. Blue blood flowed from the alien's corpse.

"Appreciate the assist!" Amanda called out. The marines gave a thumbs, and continued on.

* * *

"Another Raven just bit it!" An officer cried.

"That's the thirteenth one!" Alex said. He shook his head. "What's the situation out there?"

"Doesn't look good, sir." An officer said. "Most of them are already destroyed, but the ones that are still up have rallied around Firebird Wing."

Alex was shocked. "Tyler? He's still alive? How many people has he rallied?"

"Looks like he's gotten a hold of four other wings."

Alex smiled. "Thomas, remind me to give that man a medal."

* * *

"Alright, guys." Tyler said. "We can't hope to fight head-on against the enemy's fighters, and if their fighters are any indication, attacking their capital ships would be suicide. We have to try hit-and-run attacks."

He stopped when the "Incoming Transmission" light blinked. On instinct, he began streaming to his squadron, which had expanded to all of the survivors by this point. He expected Alex, or Thomas.

Initially, he was confused. The face that greeted him wasn't Alex's, or Thomas'. However, the confusion was quickly replaced by rage. The face was alien! This was his enemy, one of the aliens that had claimed so many lives!

"A good fight, pale ones, though it is not one that you will be able to win. However, in light of your bravery and skill, I have decided to offer you a choice. You and your men can either power down your weapons and shields..."

Fifty black and sliver ships appeared, throwing off their cloaking, and surrounding Tyler and the other survivors. "Or you can all die in a blaze of glory. It is your choice."

Tyler sighed. He was beat. There was no way that the survivors could make it out of this. "Please give me a moment to talk to my men."

"Very well, but should even one of them make an attempt to fight, all will be destroyed."

Tyler cut the transmission and brought up his squadron link.

"What's the plan?"  
"How do we get away?"  
"Fight to the death!"  
"Make a run for it!"  
"Quiet!" Tyler exclaimed. The others fell silent, and waited. Tyler closed his eyes, and sighed. "You all trust my judgement, right?"

There was a universal agreement. Tyler smiled. "Please hear me out. There's no way that we can get away, and fighting will only mean that we all die. We can't hold out in hope that we'll get rescued. However, if they really wanted us dead, they'd have killed us already. They're willing to take prisoners. Please, don't do anything stupid. Just power down your weapons and shields."

* * *

"Sir, the survivors have powered down their weapons and shields."

Alex nodded. "Good. No more deaths out there. What about the enemy ships?"

The officer shook his head. "They've dropped off the grid again."

Alex sighed, and turned to Thomas. "How are security forces holding up?"

"From what I've been told, the strong-points are still holding strong."

"And fire-control?"

"Still down."

Alex nodded. They were a sitting target. No fighters, no outer defenses. Most of their ships had been destroyed already. They were down to the _America_ and one of the Phalanx-class destroyers at full capacity. Both of the Taurus-class battlecruisers had been reduced to drifting husks barely fit for salvage, and all of the other ships had been either destroyed or come close to it and abandoned. Things weren't looking good.

"Incoming transmission! Encryption code is from High Command!"

"Pull it up!"

High Commander Owen had a hard face, wrinkled before its time by the stresses of war. No hair grew on that barren stretch of skin, which was instead populated with a number of scars. Dull brown eyes sat sunken into his head, sitting above a crooked nose and behind a pair of heavy glasses.

"High Commander Owen!" Alex said with a salute. "To what do I owe this?"

"We've tried to come into contact with the other vessels in your fleet. Only the _Centurion_ has actually responded. What the hell is going on? Have pirates truly bested your fleet?"

"These aren't pirates, sir. They're aliens." Alex responded.

Owen's eyes widened. "Has the Swarm really spread so far? I didn't think-"

"Not the Swarm, sir." Alex interrupted. "They call themselves the Kaal'Thaasa."

* * *

The rattle of Sam and Amanda's rifles died for the final time. They threw down the empty weapons, and drew their pistols. Facing them down were two of the Kaal'Thaasan soldiers, each with a shield up and a sword ready.

"Any plans?" Amanda asked, hopeful.

"Only one, but I don't think you'll like it." Sam admitted.

"I know the plan." Amanda replied. She sighed. The pair of Kaal'Thaasans were ten feet away.

They stopped their advance, shields still up, but swords away. "Drop your weapons, humans." One of them said.

Amanda sighed. This was what it came down to. She looked to Sam, to see what her commanding officer would do.

"You won't kill us?" Sam asked.

The other Kaal'Thaasan shook its head. "The Kaal'Thaasa are an honorable race. If we take prisoners, it is because we intend to keep them alive. You will be fairly treated."

Sam sighed, and removed the helmet. Long, red hair fell out of her helmet, and shining blue eyes were put on display. "I trust you. Don't make me regret that."

* * *

Alex couldn't take that last line. It was all he could do not to break into sobs upon hearing it. He managed to hold his composure as he turned off the mic, and turned to face Owen. They remained silent for a moment, before Owen broke the silence. "You won't be receiving any reinforcements. I'm sorry."

Alex's eyes shot up at that, and he faced Owen. "What do you mean? You aren't sending help?"

Owen shook his head. "Timothy and Jackson overruled me. I wanted to send help, but they both said no. I'm sorry."

Alex closed his eyes. "They're killing good people, Owen. Thousands of good people."

"I know." Owen admitted. "I also know that there is nothing that I can say or do that will change this. So I ask you to remember one thing: That I tried. Hate me if you must, but know that I tried to help you."

Alex nodded. He was about to speak when a comm officer announced "Another transmission!". Alex looked at Owen. "Thank you for trying, sir. Good bye."

Owen saluted, and the screen went blank. Then, Celestia's face appeared onscreen. "Fleet Admiral Alex, do you have any final words before your fleet's remains are scattered across the system?"

Alex sighed. "I do." He looked up at the screen, his red eyes staring into Celestia's amber pools. "High Judicator Celestia, I hereby surrender, and request an immediate halt to all hostilities."

Celestia was obviously expecting a different response. "You... surrender? Your entire fleet?"

Alex nodded. "I've already received reports that your troops have taken many of my own prisoner. I know that, if you really wanted me dead, that you'd have destroyed us already. I concede this battle to you."

"Very well then."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the remaining crew had been gathered into the America's primary hangar. All prisoners that the Kaal'Thaasans had taken were returned safely. It was now that Amanda truly understood just how severe their losses had been. There was spare room in the hangar. Usually, the place would be packed to bursting, and still have people left over. That was just the America's crew, alone. This was the combined remnants of the entire fleet! How many people had been killed?

"16,523." Alex said, snapping Amanda to attention, along with all the other survivors. "Out of the twenty thousand men and women that came here from Coronith, only 3,477 still survive, barely enough to operate the _America._" His face was hard and determined, his voice resolute and firm. "All of these deaths because High Command wanted us to investigate these disappearances. I now know what the cargo of those ships was: Swarm. Those ships were destroyed because they were carrying the Swarm."

The reaction was one of outrage. They'd fought because their own commanders were using the Swarm? Alex quickly calmed them down. "I did not fight the Kaal'Thaasa because they destroyed Swarm organisms! I didn't fight them because they attacked UTA ships, the same UTA who decided that we weren't worth saving!"

More outraged cries erupted, but they quickly died again. "I chose to fight because they claimed lives that were mostly innocent! The escorts of those cargo ships were just as clueless as we were coming here! They didn't deserve this!"

Cheers erupted, but they only grew louder when Alex announced "That is why I am proposing that we break our ties with the UTA, and operate independently!"

* * *

"-der Shultz! Commander!" Sam called, breaking Alex from his thoughts.

"What? Are we under attack?" Alex was on high alert. _America_ was currently considered to be a rouge ship, and they had a fleet on their tail. If the UTA couldn't have their ship, Alex was sure they had no qualms about destroying it, even if there were women and children aboard. After all, they were family to the traitors. Kill them all, and there's one less problem to worry about.

Sam shook her head. "We couldn't get you from the bridge, so they sent me. We break warp in five."

* * *

When High Judicator Celestia had allowed the _America_ to leave the Kuhl'Dahri system, she hadn't expected it to return a month later, much less alone.

"Fleet Admiral Alex Shultz of the UTA, why have you returned to this system?" She asked warily.

Alex shook his head. "Fleet Admiral I am no longer, nor will I ever again call myself of the UTA. Today, I come to you not as a foe, but as a man abandoned by those who thought to use him. Days behind my ship is a fleet intent on killing my crew and their families. That we managed to make it here in our ship, still as badly damaged as it was a month ago, is a miracle. However, if we are to survive any longer, I must ask you a question."

"I'm listening." Celestia said.

"As prisoners, we were treated with courtesy, kindness, and consideration. How would we be treated as allies?"

If she'd had a mouth, Alex was sure that Celestia would've been smiling.

"You are treated with what you have earned: admiration, respect, dignity, and honor. Alex Shultz, I welcome you and your crew to the Kaal'Thaasa."

* * *

Pursuit Fleet Cheetah broke warp with its shields up and its weapons online. Three fleet carriers, seven Taurus-class Battlecruisers, twenty Phalanx-class destroyers, and over fifty Raven-class gun-runners. All of them here on account of one ship and its crew. At the helm of the flagship, _Courageous_, was Fleet Admiral Typhon. The man was known throughout the UTA for his cruelty on and off the battlefield, his totalitarian discipline, and his impeccable service record. Now, he was determined to add "Hero of the UTA" to that list. "Converts", they'd branded Alex and his group. Typhon would take great fun in crushing his little rebellion.

"Incoming transmission, sir!"The comms officer reported.

"Pull it up!" Typhon ordered. He wore a morbid grin as Alex Shultz's face appeared on the main screen.

"Begging isn't going to get you anywhere, traitor." Typhon said.

Alex Shultz smiled back. "Good, they sent a despicable person to fight me. I won't feel nearly as bad for what I have to do now."

Typhon laughed. "You mean to imply that you'll beat me? Ha! You're crazy! You're outnumbered, outgunned, and out of luck, Shultz."

Alex shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, Typhon. Today marks our break from the UTA. I speak for all of my crew. We will see you beaten, Typhon, and for all your cruelties, I'll have your head."

The transmission cut, and suddenly, the sensor officer reported, "Sir, three enemy contacts! The _America_, and two unknowns! We've got incoming!"

Typhon pulled up a view-screen, and watched with amazement and fear as two golden arms extended from two massive blue-gold ships flanking the _America._

* * *

"Wing leaders, report in." Came the call over the radio.

"Pheonix Wing, standing by."

"Hydra Wing, standing by."

"Chimera Wing, standing by."

"Cerberus Wing, standing by."

"All wings, break formation on my mark." Tyler took a deep breath, and counted in his head. _One... Two... Three..._ "Mark!" He barked, pulling on the controls. His craft peeled away from the golden arm below. Behind him, forty-eight strong, was his force, his squadron. Myth Squadron, a red streak in stark contrast to the golden arm below.

The machines handled amazingly. Keld'Herra, the Kaal'Thaasan's called them: Swift Death.

Behind him, the streak morphed into an arrow as his men took up positions, his craft positioned at the tip.

"Full ahead!" Tyler called, punching his throttle to its limit. The formation shot forwards in unison, closing quickly on the enemy's fleet. This was their trial by fire: soften enemy defenses ahead of the main body.

Vrael, the pilot who had originally taken him and the others captive, put a transmission through, which Tyler transmitted to the others in his force. "Myth Squadron, we are with you every step of the way. Just the fact that you were willing to undertake this mission to prove yourselves speaks to us. Onwards!"

A cheer went up over the radio, and they approached ever closer to the enemy formation. Once they were close enough, they broke the formation to initiate a ferocious mêlée. Tyler quickly set his sights on one of the Ravens, whose turrets had already begun to fire. He maneuvered into position, lined up the shot, and pulled the trigger. A quick flash erupted from the front of his craft, and the turret erupted into flames. Quickly, Tyler pulled out of the attack, and turned his craft on a dime. All around him, red and black craft swooped and shot circles around the enemy ships and fighters, as the golden tides approached...

* * *

"Your pilots are truly admirable." Celestia said. "Especially considering how little time they've had to train in our craft."

Alex nodded. "They survived your onslaught through their skill, their adaptability. Here, against a lesser foe..." He trailed off.

"You regret having to do this?" Celestia said, more statement than question.

Alex nodded. "I probably know some of them. They have families, friends... How many of them are fighting for the right reasons, for their loved ones?" He sighed, and shook his head. "I wish that there was a way to do this without killing friends and causing grief to their families."

* * *

The melee was short and quick, with almost no Kaal'Thaasan or convert losses. Now, though, with his enemy's fleet in tatters, in no condition to fight or return home, and with people still on-board, Alex Shultz wasn't prepared to leave them to die.

I'm going to check their ships for survivors." He told Celestia.

She shook her head. "You humans amaze me. I spared you out of honor, but this fleet deserves no such reprieve. Yet, you would seek to save those who had hoped to kill you."

"I suppose that's the difference between us." Alex said. "I'm a firm believer in redemption. They can't redeem themselves if they're dead."

So he left the command of the _America_ to Thomas, gathered up a handful of dropships and marines, and began a systematic search of the now-destroyed fleet. Survivors were few, far between, and occasionally hostile. It was on the _Courageous, _their final stop, that the force was met by them.

The second that the dropship's doors opened, the sounds of battle echoing throughout the ship were obvious. He led his marines to the nearest source of fire.

She was tall, wearing brown combat armor. Her raven hair flew in time with the roar of her canister rifle. Alex didn't waste time thinking. He took cover nearby, and fired a short burst against a soldier ready to throw a grenade at them. The man dropped to the ground, and the grenade detonated. The unexpected support got her attention, and she looked at Alex with golden eyes.

"Thanks for the assist." She said. "Didn't think that there were many more of us on this ship, much less a force that large."

"Sure thing." Alex said. He looked up, and fired another burst from his rifle, dropping another soldier with a squeeze of the trigger. "We actually came here from another ship to look for survivors. What the hell is going on?"

"Open revolt." Came her response. "Typhon wanted to get reinforcements from UTA High Command, to try to fight again! He's gone crazy if he actually believes that he has a chance to defeat the Kaal'Thaasa on their own terms!"

"Then why the combat?" Alex asked, still confused.

"Well, some of us don't want to commit suicide, which is what another battle with the Kaal'Thaasa would be! We wanted to get out of here and never look back, but Typhon and his officers, along with some loyalists, tried to get out a message for reinforcements!"

"So shots were fired, tensions exploded, and people started taking sides?" Alex summed up.

She nodded, and fired another shot from her rifle, the roar echoing through the hall. "Name's Ash. What about you?"

"Alex."

* * *

Alex and his marines spent the next few hours helping the rebels sweep and clear the _Courageous_, which fell into rebel hands. There were still a few loyalists on-board, but there weren't enough to retake control of the ship. Now, Alex, Ash, and some of the rebels were on the bridge, looking over the ship's status as systems were brought back online.

"I never got to ask you." Ash said. "What ship did you come from?"

Alex sighed. "_America_." He admitted.

Their guns were up in an instant. "You're a convert?" Ash accused.

Alex held his hands up. "I helped you take the ship, didn't I? We're fighting the same enemy."

She lowered her weapon slightly. All eyes were on them.

He saw the man first, the grenade in his hand, pin pulled out. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. He shoved Ash out of the way, and jumped onto the grenade as it rolled into the room. He felt like he'd spent an eternity on that grenade.

Then it went off, and everything sped up again. The explosion knocked off his helmet and slammed him into one of the walls, where unconsciousness greeted him.

* * *

Alex woke up in the _America_'s medical bay. As his vision cleared, he noticed that he wasn't alone. Ash, Sam, and Thomas all shared a relieved look. Sam walked up to him and gave him a big hug.

"Thank God you're alright!" She said. Alex smiled and hugged her back.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You mean after you sustained serious shrapnel damage to your intestinal tract, a few cracked ribs, and head trauma?" Ash asked. "We cleared out the rest of the ship. Your adjutant sent us a few mechanics, and the _Courageous_ is up and running alongside your crew."

Alex nodded, and looked at Thomas. "Where are we headed right now, Thomas?" Alex asked.

"Saranis." Came the reply. "Apparently, Sigma-Echo's fallen, and it doesn't seem like the UTA is interested in taking it back."

"Any survivors?" Alex asked, his interest piqued.

Thomas nodded. "Few hundred holed up inside of a command center. We're en route to pick them up." He paused, then added, "Until we get there, you'll need to get some rest sir. it wouldn't do to have you die on us."

Alex nodded. "Thomas, I'm trusting you to look after these people in my stead."

Thomas nodded. "I won't let you down, sir."


	3. Crippling Losses

Anna was running as fast as she could. Everything had gone up in smoke in the last few hours. The UTA's newest Kaithennu crystal deposit, found a few weeks ago on Vulkaan, had been attacked by the Converts. They'd landed on the head of one of the ion storms that occasionally ravaged the planet. They cleared out the base before word could get out. Now, Anna was on the run, not from the Converts, but from the Swarm brood that had attacked right after the Converts had claimed victory.

Anna looked over to Jack, the co-commander of the Convert's assault force. She winced. The things that he'd gone through in the past week, she could never survive with her sanity.

"Thank God!" He said, startling Anna.

"You made contact?" Anna said hopefully.

"Yeah!" He replied, the face on the link one of relief. A cheer went up from the other survivors.

A second face appeared, this one belonging to someone that Anna recognized immediately. However, it wasn't the compassionate green eyes that rang a bell, nor did his chiseled features spark the recognition. However, the long, thin scar that ran from his right temple, just under his right eye, under his nose, across the left edge of his lip, and ending at his lower-left jaw was enough to make Anna gasp.

The face flooded with relief. "Jack! Thank God! For a second there, I thought that you guys weren't going to make it."

"We didn't, sir. I'm one of the few that actually made it out of that hell-hole alive."

Dismay rushed to fill Alex Shultz's features. "You mean... h-how bad-"

"Everyone that we sent down, myself excluded." Jack said sadly.

"UTA casualties?" Alex asked.

"Severe. Not total, I managed to find a few who are more than willing to join up. However, we won't be executing any sort of ground operations anytime soon."

The pain in Alex's face was obvious. "So many good people. All dead..." Anna could tell he was fighting back tears.

"Not all dead, sir." Jack said, his voice cracking. "Sarah..."

Alex's eyes closed. "Swarm?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's thanks to her sacrifice that we managed to escape." Jack explained. "They... They stopped coming after they had her, but she didn't go down without a fight."

"Jack, I'm so sorry. I really am." Alex said. "I've got transport coming down to pick you guys up. We've got a lock on your coordinates planet-side, just hold tight."

* * *

They didn't make it in time. When the dropship arrived at the coordinates, all that was left was a group of corpses, all of hem human. Spent shell casings from 6mm pulse rifles and empty canisters from a C-10 littered the volcanic ground near where the soldiers had fallen. Alex allowed the tears to fall. He wasn't fast enough. He didn't make it. They'd accomplished their objective, sure, but at what cost? If it meant throwing away five hundred lives, Alex wanted them back, the UTA could have their base.

Another question nagged at him. Not one Swarm corpse. Not one! What had killed these people?

He moved over to the bloodied corpses of the deceased. Good men and women, dead. The corpses bloodied by claws or partially dissolved by acidic Creeper. He crouched down next to the only one there wearing the black armor of Commander, and lifted the access cover. Inside was the black box, the recording of this escapade.

"Come on." He said to the troops who'd come with him. "Salvage what you can, leave the rest."

* * *

Back on the _America_, Alex was waiting for the data-feed of Jack's helmet recording to finish defragging after being exposed to the ion storm, still thinking about how things had gone horribly wrong. Vulkaan had been the site of the UTA's new Kaithennu crystal deposit, with crystals even purer than those at Sigma-Echo. The intense heat melted away impurities, leaving the Kaithennu crystals incredibly pure, and extremely potent. The UTA had only been on site for a few weeks, and had shipped out a load already. That was how they'd discovered the spot in the first place.

The goal of the mission had been simple: Take what they could, and obliterate the rest so that the UTA couldn't use it. Good on paper, and in the field. They'd gone in with an ion storm that shut out all communications, so that the UTA wouldn't catch wind of what was going on. Then, hours later, Alex got the call from Jack. A Pyrrhic victory, and one that the Converts couldn't afford.

"Sir." Thomas said softly. "The camera feed from Jack's chip has been defragmented. Do you want to view it?"

Alex shook his head. "I don't want to, but I know that I have to. I need to know what went wrong."

* * *

They skipped through the briefing, and paused just before the doors of the dropship opened. Alex nodded, and the footage rolled.

"-O GO GO!" Jack's voice cried out as the marines in front of him rushed forwards. They piled out of the multiple doors that surrounded the dropship, and, according to the tactical map on Jack's HUD, had moved to form a rough circle around the dropship. Multiple red blips appeared on the map, representing confirmed enemy contacts. Jack rushed out of the dropship, and onto the battlefield, gun raised. The tactical map on his HUD grew smaller as a live feed from his gun-cam filled center screen, though it was still there in the top-left. The gun-cam centered on a UTA marine, and there was a flash as he fired. The marine dropped like a rock onto the volcanic ground. All the while, short-ranged communications were flying back and forth over the radio.

"Kilroy moving to CP Victor, need assist!"

"Roger Kilroy, Hotel moving for assist."

"X-Ray, here, taking heavy fire from the tower in the northwest corner of the station!"

"Fire confirmed, X-Ray, Limbo moving up with heavy support."

"Someone take down those damn towers!"

Red dots began disappearing at a faster rate as the Convert force focused fire on their confused foes. Occasionally, a blue dot would disappear as well. Jack continued to fight, gun camera a blur as his aim shifted from target to target, taking shot after shot, scoring kill after kill. "Keep moving!" He cried into the radio. "We've got to take their stores intact before they decide to get their act together!" He then began directing individual squads towards their objectives, all while still under enemy fire. He took shots less frequently now, concentrating more on the tactics that were needed. "Bravo, move to CP Foxtrot in support of Hotel. Juliet, pull back to CP Golf and wait on Zulu to reinforce." He moved at a blistering pace, not making one mistake, fluidly adapting to the needs of his men.

"Jack, this is Sarah. We've secured the crystals." Came the call over the radio. "Marking the position on the TOpMap."

One of the blue dots on Jack's Tactical Operations Map turned yellow and began to flash. "All troops, I'm updating objectives. Move to the position marked on your tactical maps. The crystals are secured, now we just need to get them loaded up and wait for this storm to-."

* * *

The video feed paused for a moment, and Alex tore his eyes up to look at Thomas.

"A stray ion bolt hit Jack at some point. Not fatal, but it caused a corruption of the data. We lose a few hours of feed, and the video skips to here. I need to warn you, though, that unless you're prepared for what you're about to see, you'll probably need to use the bag we've provided." Thomas pointed to the brown paper bag next to Alex's chair.

"How bad?" Alex asked. Thomas sighed, and hit play.

* * *

The feed jumped from a shot of the inside walls of the compound to a shot of a Swarmling's face in very fine detail, yellow orbs and jagged teeth outlined in blood, metal, and shredded organs. A knife flew in from the side, and drove up to its hilt in the side of the Swarmling's head. There was a sickening crack as the carapace yielded under pressure, and a wet sucking sound as the knife retracted. The Swarmling gone, the shot was now of a very cloudy sky, filled with blue bolts of ionized particles. Then, there was a rush as Jack stood up, and the view was now of a burning compound in the distance, dozens more Swarmlings and Spitters pouring out of it towards them.

"Sarah!" Jack cried. She was by his side at an instant.

"Jack, we won't be able to hold them off like this! They keep picking us off! At this rate, we'll die!"

Jack nodded. "I know that. Why the hell are they following us, though? The Kaithennu crystals should be more valuable to them than a few stragglers."

"Jack, I think they want me." Sarah admitted.

Jack turned to look at Sarah, who was wearing a Kaal'Thaasan armor set, having complained that the marine armor was too bulky. She'd proven highly adept with the blade and shield. Her face was covered by a customized helmet that took more after a welders mask.

"Sarah, what the hell are you talking about?" Jack asked, fearing he knew the answer already.

"They know how powerful I am, Jack. They've felt me, just like I've felt them. They want me. I won't let them kill you to get to me. I'll hold them off. Just go!"

Jack shook his head. "No way, Sarah! I'm not going to let them take you! I'd rather die than let them turn you!" Jack's armored glove held onto her shoulder-plate.

Sarah shook her head. "Jack, you won't have a choice in the matter."

Alex could see Jack's eyes widen as Sarah's power took hold. "Sarah, what are-"

"Shhh." She whispered. "Let me go, Jack. Let me go."

Slowly, Jack's hand lifted from her shoulder-plate, and she ran towards the Swarm.

He came to his senses, and ran to catch up with the rest of the group with an audible sigh and a "Good luck, love."

* * *

The video paused again, and again Alex tore his gaze away.

"Sorry sir, the ion bolt did a real number on this thing. There's a five-day gap, but we've filled it in from what the other logs had. They basically hunkered down and waited. However, on that last day, when they got their cal out to us, the recording started back." He paused, then added "We missed them by about thirty minutes. Something got to them first."

* * *

"Sir, visual!" Anna called. Jack moved over to her. "On the horizon, coming from the base." Jack brought his rifle up, and pushed his zoom out to the maximum.

He then proceeded to drop the rifle as the recognition of the figure hit him.

"Sarah!" He cried.

"What?" Anna asked, confused.

"The one that went out to stop the Swarm from overrunning us on our escape." He crouched and scooped up his rifle. "They captured her. Now she's come back."

"What do we do?" Anna asked.

"We kill or be killed. No other option." After checking over the weapon, he chambered a round. "I just hope that our evac gets here soon."

The next five minutes were spent in utter silence on his part, as Anna was the one rallying the others.

"Sarah? Is that you?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen to you."

"No, It didn't have to be this way! You could've listened! You didn't have to be a sacrifice!"

"Sarah, The Swarm's changed you. You aren't yourself. I can't..."

"No, please, stop! Stop! Stop it!" Hands clutched at his helmet, and it was obvious that he was on the recieving end of a psionic assault. "Sarah, please! Stop it!"

His screams continued, and were soon joined by the sounds of gunfire as Sarah began a single-handed slaughter of the survivors. Their screams were caught over the radio, even as Jack's weakened into a constant whimpering.

Soon, Jack's pained breathing was the only sound to be heard, his helmet face planted in the ash.

"Sarah." Jack gasped, regaining his composure. "I'm sorry."

Then there was a sickening scream, and Jack fell silent.


	4. Waking Up

He didn't know how long he'd been out. He didn't know where, or even who he was. Everything around him was like a holovid that had been slowed to a crawl. He could see every detail of every seemingly sluggish motion, hear every single exploding cartridge, every screech. He felt himself lifted up into a transport.

"Jesus Christ, that's nasty!"

"Kid's lucky to be alive."

"Lucky ain't how I'd describe it."

"Just get us the hell outta here!"

Everything lurched upwards, then forwards. The sounds of war stopped, replaced by the steady hum of the transport's engine.

"We got a name for our mystery man?"

"No, ma'am. Didn't find a tag on him.

"Hang on, his hand's closed tight around something."

He felt his hand opened.

"ID tag. Says his name's..."

The man lost the battle, and allowed himself to sleep.

* * *

_You're mine._ The female voice hissed. _No matter where you may go, know that I'll be right there behind you, looking for you. And when I do, you're gonna join me._

**Like hell!** The male voice roared. **You killed them! Tried to kill me! No way I'm gonna help you! You're dreaming if you think I will!**

_But I didn't kill you. _The female voice replied coolly. _I infested you, ever so slightly._

**I... I don't believe you! **The male voice responded. **There's no way that you could've infested me! I'd notice!**

_I certainly didn't. _The female voice responded. _Not until it was too late to change anything. Of course, you might be right. Maybe I'm lying right now. Maybe I didn't infest you. Maybe all I'm doing is trying to get into your head and make you surrender so that I don't have to get my hands dirty._

_But what if I'm not? _The female voice teased._ What if I did infest you, not enough to make it obvious, but just enough to make you Swarm without you looking it? You wouldn't grow a carapace. You'd be just a pound stronger, just a second faster, just a percent smarter. Nothing extraordinary. But definitely there._

**Sh... shut up!** The male voice said weakly. **I won't listen to you! I won't join you!**

_I think you will. Next time we meet, you will be mine._

* * *

The man woke up with a start, sweating and panting. He looked at his hands. They looked like they'd been set on fire, then put through a few dozen knife fights. He followed the devastated landscape of his skin up his arm to his shoulder, then down his chest to his stomach. He was horrified.

The sudden surge of speed on the machine monitoring his vitals brought a pair of medics into the room to see what was going on.

"Calm down, kid!" The male medic on the left said worriedly. "The skin'll grow back after a few hours in the tank, but we don't have any hearts for ya if the one you got now gives!"

The man took a few deep breaths. His heart rate dropped back down.

"Jesus Christ." The male medic muttered. "Don't scare us like that."

The man opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. The hell? **W**hy** co**uld**n't h**e tal**k?**

"It's probably got something to do with the fact that you spent about two weeks laying face-down in your armor on a volcanic planet." The female medic said pointedly. "It's a miracle your armor's life support systems kept your lungs from flooding with ash, but I'm not sure that we'll be able to save the vocal chords."

Wa**it. Th**ey cou**ld hea**r his t**hought**s?

"Well, it kinda helps that you're projecting them." The girl on the right said. "Though the dreams were kinda fucked up."

He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and focused. **Sorry. Didn't really know that I was able to project my thoughts like that.**

"Hey, no problems." The girl said, moving over to the monitors. "You just went through one hell of a traumatic event. Least you should do is let it all out."

**Yeah. Guess so.**

"Course, the dreams were kinda ambiguous. What the hell happened to this place anyways?"

**Not really sure.** The man leaned back into the bed. **Can't really remember a thing about what happened.** He paused. **Can't remember anything, actually.**

"That bites." The man said. "No memory, mute, ugly as fuck, and possibly uncontrollable psionic powers. I'd hate to be you."

**So, you guys don't know _anything_ about what happened here? Where we are?**

The girl smiled. "No, we have a general idea. Planet's called Vulkaan. Surface is primarily volcanic, thanks to the fact that the system's two stars are situated just right for a damn tug-of-war on a planetary level. We're here as members of the UTA to recover some Kaithennu crystals and eliminate a Swarm hive on-planet."

**Recover? How'd you lose them?**

"Damned Converts." The man said, sitting down in a chair. "Damn them. Came through in the middle of an Ion Storm, took out the stores that had been accumulated. Anyone that didn't die in the firefight died when the Swarm came knocking afterward."

**How do I fit into any of this?**

"You're one lucky son-of-a-bitch, you know?" The man said. "Some troops were out on patrol, found you laying face-down in the ash, barely alive. Armor had been warped, no recognizable markings. They called in an extract, and came under attack from the Swarm. Evac managed to grab them and you before they were completely overwhelmed."

The man nodded. **You said no recognizable markings on the armor. Does that mean I don't have a name?**

"Not exactly." The man said, digging into his pocket. "We found a tag on you. It was warped, too, but we think we've got a name for you. The tag had you as Sar."

**Sar?**

"That's what I said."

Sar nodded. **You mentioned a tank earlier. You said that a few hours in it would help the skin grow back.**

The girl nodded. "Your vital signs are better now. If you want, we can get you into one of the tanks right now."

* * *

The tank, Sar learned, was a full-submersion vat. They helped him into the clear tube, then closed the door behind him. "Breath normally." The male said. "The tank'll be filled with an oxygenated restorative that you can and should breath." Sar nodded. A minute later, a dark-blue liquid began flooding the tank. As it climbed the ruined surface of Sar's skin, he felt an annoying tingling sensation as it covered the burnt skin. His ankles, then his knees, then his waist, up past his stomach to his shoulders. As it passed his mouth, he took in a deep breath.

The coughing fit only lasted for a few seconds as his lungs adjusted furiously to the new mixture. His eyes burned as the liquid moved to cover them. He blinked a few times to clear them.

**How long did you say I'd be here? **Sar asked.

"A few hours, tops." The girl said. "My name's Ashley." She motioned to the man. "The old grump's name is Johan." The man nodded, and continued making adjustments to the flow of the blue liquid.

Sar looked down at his legs, and noticed that the burnt and bloodied flesh was knitting itself back together, regenerating at a surprising pace. He watched as burnt bits of his flesh were filtered out of the tank, little pieces of him floating away, leaving no scar in any place. The only skin he couldn't see was covered by a pair of boxers, which he lifted to check. He breathed a sigh of relief, and allowed the waistband to snap back.

"You don't look half bad when you aren't burnt to shit." Johan said casually. Sar looked over his body. The musculature was dense and packed. Six-pack abs, broad shoulders, strong arms and toned legs. Though it was all slightly marred by his dehydration and malnutrition after his time outside, the liquid around him seemed to at least partially repair that damage.

**Considering what I assume would be my line of work, I'd hope so. **Sar projected. He looked at Johan, who was typing furiously. **What are you doing?**

"Trying to figure out who you are, Sar." Johan replied. "If you've got family, they need to know that you're alive."

* * *

Sar spent three hours in the tank. After the three hours, the tank was drained, another coughing fit was endured as Sar's lungs expelled the oxygenated fluid, and a fresh uniform was supplied.

**There's no insignia.** Sar noted as he held the shirt in his hands. **I take it you couldn't find me in your system?**

Johan shook his head. "No 'Sar' anywhere in the UTA's _armed forces_."

Ashley frowned. "Is it possible that he's a Convert?" She asked.

Johan shook his head. "It's possible, but the point is that the records I looked through go back to before the Converts popped up. Sar's either an alias or else a screw-up on our end. Either way, it's not his name."

**So then what happens to me?** Sar projected, shrugging on the shirt and accepting the sidearm and spare mag that Ashley handed him.

Johan smiled. "Nothing right now. You aren't exactly acting in a hostile manner, so we can't kill ya."

**Thanks.** Sar replied weakly. **Am I allowed food now? Maybe some water?**

* * *

The mess was serving mashed potatoes, ground beef, and peas. After getting some for himself, and snagging a water bottle, he followed Johan and Ashley to a table where a few other medics were eating.

"Hey, look who's up and recovered!" One of the male medics said as they sat down. "The miracle man!"

Sar smiled. **That's what I'm being called? **He mouthed the words, not sure how they'd take his being a psychic.

"Pretty much." A female medic said. "Hell, miracle's an understatement. I wouldn't know that you'd been face-down in ash if I hadn't been the medic on the transport that picked you up."

**Yeah, well this miracle man isn't exactly doing too well on the whole 'remembering' thing.** Sar mouthed.** Can't tell you how I ended up there. **He took a bite from his mashed potatoes, and chased it with a bit of water.

The conversation turned to medical jargon, and Sar tuned it out. He finished up his tray of food, dumped it into a nearby trash bin, and left for... somewhere. Without a clear direction, he just wandered through the base, committing it to memory as he went. Rest rooms... storage room... he stopped when the sirens started going off. "General Quarters! General Quarters!" The alarm sounded. "All soldier to your battle stations! Medical personnel ready to receive! Incoming Swarm!"

He looked around. He was in a deserted corridor, without armor, and only a pistol to fight with. He pulled the weapon from its holster at his thigh, and pulled back the charging slide. He hoped that he would be able to find something better, soon.

Rather than backtrack, Sar followed the sounds of gunfire until he came onto a firefight. Sar took cover in a doorway, peeking out to see just what he'd stumbled on.

A handful of armored soldiers were fighting furiously to stem the deluge of Swarmlings that were charging down the hall, entering from a breach in the wall. Sar brought his pistol to bear, and fired. A Swarmling took the shot through its head, and collapsed, even as others charged on. He fired again and again, putting round after round into the boiling mass of bodies. When a pull on the trigger solicited nothing but a click, Sar's hand went for the spare mag, even as the empty one dropped out of the grip.

Then, the wave of hot air and ash from the breach hit him. He dropped the mag and pistol, and collapsed to the floor. His lungs screamed in protest, his whole body ached. Black creeped into his field of vision. Sounds slurred together, colors faded. He lost consciousness.


	5. Waking Up: Part 2

The next time Sar woke, he wished he could go right back to sleep. His head and chest were on fire. He slowly stood up, grabbing the wall to steady himself. He took a few deep breaths, the made a realization. He breathed again. Nothing. He'd been knocked out earlier by...

His eyes darted to the wall, scanning it. There. The breach in the wall where the Swarm... The Swarm. He looked around. Dead bodies on the floor, Swarm and armored humans. His mind froze, but quickly kicked into gear. He grabbed the pistol, slapped a mag into the weapon, and holstered it. Then, he picked up an assault rifle off of one of the dead soldiers, and as much ammo as he could.

Something behind him hissed. He spun, bringing his rifle up, aiming down the sights, a Swarmling in his field of vision. He pulled the trigger. The rifle sang, the Swarmling jerked. Sar didn't wait. He just turned and ran.

* * *

He didn't know how long he'd run for, or where he was when he finally stopped. His legs and chest burned from the exertion. He collapsed, sliding down the wall. His heart pounded, his breath came harshly. He didn't feel exhausted, though. He just needed to stop running blindly.

Footsteps. He almost laughed. Someone else was alive! He turned to see...

He was up in an instant, rifle brought to bear, aimed right at the head. The... he hesitated to call it a person, since it was far more like a Swarm organism. A carapace covered the body, but the face was left untouched. White teeth flashed. "Jack. How nice to see you."

The memories came flooding in from the figure before him. Sigma-Echo. Alex Shultz. Converts. Vulkaan. Swarm. Kaithennu Crystals. Betrayal. UTA. Saranis.

**Sarah.** He projected, keeping his rifle on target. **What the hell did you do to me?**

"A pound stronger, a second faster, and a percent smarter." She said with a smile.

Jack shook his head. **I don't believe you.**

Sarah laughed. "You don't have to believe me." She said. "The proof's there."

He winced as the psionic assault began. Repressed memories of his infestation brought forwards. He fought to retain himself, to keep his wits about him.

**N-no.** He thought. **I... I won't... I can't give in!** He pushed back the assault, and initiated his own on Sarah's psyche. He bombarded her with his own memories and emotions, memories of her, and their time together. Sigma-Echo. The Swarm. Respect. Saranis. Betrayal. The Converts. Home. Faith. Vulkaan. The Kaal'Thaasans. Fighting for and against the UTA. Hope... Love. All of it. He pushed all of it past her mental defenses.

* * *

A Kaal'Thaasan ship was patrolling a system that had recently experienced a fairly large amount o Swarm activity. Commander and crew on the bridge, the other Kaal'Thaasans on-board numbering at least 2,500. They were veterans. They could handle themselves. They prided themselves on being ready for any contingency.

Two massive psionic waves crashed through the ship, one after the other, disabling the ship and its crew for almost ten minutes. When they had recovered, the commander turned to his second-in-command.

"What just happened?" He asked.

The second-in-command simply shook her head. "I... I don't know. I mean, obviously we were hit by a pair of psionic energy waves. But for _both_ of them to have such an impact on us..." She shivered. "Just think of the kind of pain that those rooted from."

The commander nodded. "We need to tell Celestia about this." He turned to his navigator. "Any idea where they came from?"

The navigator nodded. "Vulkaan."

* * *

At the former Sigma-Echo site on Saranis, Kelly and Miles were tending to their broods. They'd claimed the Kaithennu deposits for themselves, and their broods were flourishing. The occasional assault by Kaal'Thaasans or the UTA were easily turned away.

Then everything went to hell. For nearly ten minutes, their broods stopped responding to orders. Predatory instincts emerged violently, and the Swarm turned on itself as it fought a new UTA attack. For ten minutes, Kelly and Miles fought for their lives against their own broods.

Then, as abruptly as it began, it ended. Their broods stopped fighting themselves, and turned their full attention to the UTA. The damage had been done, though. In the confusion, the UTA had managed to eliminate two of their Hatchery sites, and retreat relatively unmolested.

"What was that?" Miles asked.

Kelly shook her head. "I really don't know. I've never felt anything like that before."

Miles' brows furrowed, then his eyes widened.

"What?" Kelly asked.

"I recognized the source." Miles said. "Jack and Sarah."

Kelly blinked. "You sure?"

Miles nodded. "Positive. I also noticed that both of them were infested."

Kelly's eyes widened. "Did you back-trace it?"

Miles nodded. "Vulkaan."

* * *

Alex Shultz was on bridge, deep in thought. They were still trying to recover from the losses at Vulkaan, though it wasn't impossible. The Converts had managed to get a few fringe systems that were tired with UTA rule to help them, but they had yet to contribute more than a handful of men each.

"Sir, incoming transmission!" A comms officer shouted. "It's from Celestia!"

Shultz snapped to attention. "Put it on!"

Celestia appeared on the main viewscreen, and experience told Alex that this was not good news. "Commander Shultz, about fifteen minutes ago, a patrol ship encountered a massive pair of psionic disturbances that paralyzed the entire crew for a period of ten minutes."

Shultz's eyes widened. "Ten minutes? Impossible! The amount of power required to make _one_ wave like that travel the distance it no doubt had to is insane, let alone a _pair_ of them!"

Celestia nodded. "Regardless, they experienced it, and they have discovered the origin."

"Where?" Alex said. "I can have the _America_ on-site to assist as soon as possible."

Celestia nodded. "Good. Prepare your ship and crew for travel. You leave as soon as you can."

"Where?" Alex asked.

"Vulkaan."

* * *

The sector commander sighed. "This isn't good."

"What?" Came a voice from behind.

The sector commander turned to see a battle-scarred face. "High-Commander Owen!" He saluted. "Sir, it's just that one of our Kaithennu mining operations has been set back again."

Owen nodded. "The volcano planet that the Converts raided, right?"

"Yessir." The commander replied. "We re-secured it, but it's gone dark again."

Owen sighed. "How soon can you prepare a response fleet?"

"I should be able to gather the elements within a few hours." The commander replied.

Owen nodded. "Good. Where did you say this was?"

"Vulkaan, sir."

* * *

She woke up slowly, her head pounding. Where was she? How had she gotten here? She looked around. Nearby, slumped against the ruined remains of a wall, was a man, his torn military uniform covering a hard, brown carapace, almost like a suit of armor. She looked at herself, and noticed a similar carapace covering her body. She stood, and worked her way through the debris to where he was laying, his legs covered by large chunks of rubble. She worked to clear away the rubble. There was something about him that she just trusted.

He stirred as she moved the last of the rubble off of his body. His eyes opened slowly, but then they shot open when he saw her.

**Sarah!** A voice sounded in her head. She looked around, searching for its source.

"Did... did you do that?" She asked.

**What? **The voice sounded confused. **Well, yeah.**

"How?" She asked. "How do you do that?"

**Well, you ca- wait, you don't remember?**

"Remember what?" She asked.

The man smiled a huge smile. The smile quickly turned to a scared look as he caught sight of something. **Sarah, get down!** The man leaped forwards, pushing her to the volcanic ground. He looked up, and she followed his gaze.

**It... It's not attacking us?** He got up slowly, helping Sarah to her feet. Sarah looked at the Swarmling, then back to the man.

"Well, maybe it thinks we're one of them?" She asked.

The man's eyes widened. **I... I think that might be it.**

"Seriously, how are you doing that?" She asked.

**You really don't remember anything, do you?**

She shook her head. He sighed, and took her hand in his. **Brace yourself.**

* * *

Jack was careful not to include anything about what she'd done after her infestation. He wanted her back, the old Sarah. He gave her the best of the memories. Everything that he knew from his time with her, up to the Vulkaan mission with the Converts.

He finished, and she blinked. **Sarah?**

"Jack, what happened. The last thing I remember is leaving you, and now-" She froze. "Oh God. You... I... We..."

Jack hugged her close. **We're here together, alone.** He projected. **The Swarm doesn't seem interested in attacking us, at least.**

She nodded. "Jack, I... I'm scared." She admitted. "Scared of what might happen to us if we don't get picked up, or if we do."

Jack simply nodded. **We can worry about that later.** He projected.** Right now, I think we should follow this little guy to the Hive.**

Sarah nodded, and they followed the Swarmling as it moved across the ash-covered ground towards its Hive.

Meanwhile, Jack was screaming at himself. **What am I doing! I'm following an amnesiac with ****powerful psionic abilities into a pit of bloodthirsty monsters! Why does this seem like a good idea? Just because they haven't attacked me yet?**

He looked at Sarah. **Please, please let this be the right choice.**


End file.
